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Caleb Zhao
Caleb Zhao

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Incorrect calculations: tan(x) and cot(x) near x=k*π

Exploring the computational errors of the tangent function tan(x) and cotangent function cot(x) in MATLAB near numbers around k π(k≠0). k\,\pi (k\neq0).

Example 1. Suppose x=65.973446≈21 π. x=65.973446\approx21\,\pi. Calculate tan⁡(x) \tan(x) and cot⁡(x) \cot(x) in MATLAB.

Let's just post the figure directly.

MATLAB outputFrom the above figure, it can be seen that the two outputs from MATLAB are
2.746143375848801e−07 2.746143\red{375848801}e-07 and 3.641470466526212e+06. 3.6414704\red{66526212}e+06.
However, the correct values with 16 significant digits are 0.2746143419922914e-6 and 0.3641470408082585e7, respectively (as provided by ISRealsoft).
Thus, the outputs of MATLAB contain 9 and 8 incorrect digits, with error rates of 9/16 = 56.25% and 8/16 = 50% respectively for the significant figures.

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