Section

Tutorial Sheet 6
Polynomial Interpolation - Week 1
~
1. Let x , x , · · · , x
0 1 be distinct nodes. If p(x) is a polynomial of degree less than or
n
equal to n, then show that
n
!
p(x) = p(xi )li (x),
i=0

where li (x) is the ith Lagrange polynomial.

~
2. Given distinct nodes x , x , . . . , x , for n ≥ 1, show that
0 1 n

n
!
lk (x) = 1,
k=0

where lk (x) denotes the k th Lagrange polynomial.

-
3. Given distinct nodes x , x , . . ., x , for n ≥ 1, let
0 1 n

n
"
L(x) = (x − xi ), x ∈ [a, b].
i=0

For each k = 0, 1, . . . , n, show that

L(x)
lk (x) = , x ∈ [a, b],
(x − xk )L! (x)
k

where lk (x) is the k th Lagrange polynomial for the given nodes.

~ 4. Using Lagrange form of interpolating polynomial for the function g(x) = 3x2 +
x + 1, express the rational function

3x2 + x + 1
f (x) =
(x − 1)(x − 2)(x − 3)

as a sum of partial fractions.

~
5. Find the Lagrange form of interpolating polynomial p (x) that interpolates the2
function f (x) = e at the nodes x0 = −1, x1 = 0 and x2 = 1. Further, find the
−x2

value of p2 (−0.75) (use 6-digit rounding arithmetic). Compare the value with the
true value f (−0.75) (use 6-digit rounding arithmetic). Find the percentage error
in this calculation.

1
S. Sivaji Ganesh and S. Baskar Spring 2022-23
 Section

~ 6. Construct the divided difference table for the data

x −3 −1 0 3 5
f (x) −30 −22 −12 330 3458
Find the Newton form of interpolating polynomial for the above data and use the
interpolating polynomial to get an approximate value of f (2.5).

~ 7. Let x0 , x1 , · · · , xn be distinct nodes, and f be a given function on R. Define

#
w(x) = ni=0 (x − xi ). Prove that

!n
f (xi )
f [x0 , x1 , · · · , xn ] = " (x )
.
i=0
w i

2
S. Sivaji Ganesh and S. Baskar Spring 2022-23