classical fourth-order Runge–Kutta method

E300768

The classical fourth-order Runge–Kutta method is a widely used, higher-accuracy numerical technique for solving ordinary differential equations by combining multiple intermediate slope evaluations within each integration step.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
classical fourth-order Runge–Kutta method canonical 2
RK4 1

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Runge–Kutta method
explicit Runge–Kutta method
numerical integration method for ordinary differential equations
single-step method
appliesToEquationForm y' = f(t, y)
approximatesSolution sequence of values y_n at discrete times t_n
belongsToFamily Runge–Kutta methods developed by Carl Runge and Martin Kutta
canBeEmbeddedIn adaptive step-size Runge–Kutta pairs
definesK1As k1 = f(t_n, y_n)
definesK2As k2 = f(t_n + h/2, y_n + h k1 / 2)
definesK3As k3 = f(t_n + h/2, y_n + h k2 / 2)
definesK4As k4 = f(t_n + h, y_n + h k3)
evaluatesFunctionPerStep 4 times
hasGlobalErrorOrder 4
hasLocalTruncationErrorOrder 5
hasOrder 4
isAlsoKnownAs RK4
standard fourth-order Runge–Kutta method
isConditionallyStable true
isDescribedIn many numerical analysis textbooks
isDeterministic true
isExplicit true
isMoreAccurateThan Euler method
second-order Runge–Kutta methods for same step size
isNotAStiffSolver true
isSelfStarting true
isSuitableFor non-stiff ordinary differential equations
isTradeOffBetween accuracy and computational cost
isTypicallyImplementedWithFixedStepSize true
isWidelyUsedIn computational biology
control systems
engineering simulations
physics
scientific computing
requiresMoreFunctionEvaluationsThan Euler method
requiresSolvingAlgebraicEquations false
solves initial value problems for ordinary differential equations
stabilityDependsOn step size h and problem stiffness
updateFormula y_{n+1} = y_n + h (k1 + 2 k2 + 2 k3 + k4) / 6
usesDependentVariable y
usesIndependentVariable t
usesIntermediateSlope k1
k2
k3
k4
usesNumberOfStages 4
usesStepSizeSymbol h
usesTimeStepping discrete grid t_n = t_0 + n h
usesWeightedAverageOfSlopes (k1 + 2 k2 + 2 k3 + k4) / 6

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Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Euler’s method for numerical integration isGeneralizedBy classical fourth-order Runge–Kutta method
Runge–Kutta methods hasExample classical fourth-order Runge–Kutta method
classical fourth-order Runge–Kutta method isAlsoKnownAs RK4
linked to: classical fourth-order Runge–Kutta method