Jim Lambers

MAT 460/560
Fall Semester 2009-10
Lecture 18 Notes
These notes correspond to Section 3.2 in the text.

Interpolation Using Equally Spaced Points

Suppose that the interpolation points 0 , 1 , . . . , are equally spaced; that is, = 0 + for
some positive number . In this case, the Newton interpolating polynomial can be simplied, since
the denominators of all of the divided dierences can be expressed in terms of the spacing . If we
recall the forward dierence operator , dened by
= +1 ,
where { } is any sequence, then the divided dierences [0 , 1 , . . . , ] are given by
[0 , 1 , . . . , ] =

1
(0 ).
!

The interpolating polynomial can then be described by the Newton forward-dierence formula
)
(

(0 ),
() = [0 ] +

=1

where the new variable is related to by

=
(
and the extended binomial coecient
(

)
=

0
,

)
is dened by

( 1)( 2) ( + 1)
,
!

where is a nonnegative integer.

Example We will use the Newton forward-dierence formula
)
(

() = [0 ] +
(0 )

=1

to compute the interpolating polynomial 3 () that ts the data

1


0
1
2
3

1
0
1
2

( )
3
4
5
6

In other words, we must have 3 (1) = 3, 3 (0) = 4, 3 (1) = 5, and 3 (2) = 6. Note that the
interpolation points 0 = 1, 1 = 0, 2 = 1 and 3 = 2 are equally spaced, with spacing = 1.
To apply the forward-dierence formula, we dene = ( 0 )/ = + 1 and compute
( )

=
1
= + 1,
( )
( 1)

=
2
2
( + 1)
=
,
2
( )
( 1)( 2)

=
3
6
( + 1)( 1)
,
=
6
[0 ] = (0 )
= 3,
(0 ) = (1 ) (0 )
= 4 3
= 7,
2

(0 ) = ( (0 ))
= [ (1 ) (0 )]
= [ (2 ) (1 )] [ (1 ) (0 )]
= (2 ) 2 (1 ) + (0 )
= 5 2(4) + 3,
= 16
3

(0 ) = (2 (0 ))
= [ (2 ) 2 (1 ) + (0 )]
= [ (3 ) (2 )] 2[ (2 ) (1 )] + [ (1 ) (0 )]
= (3 ) 3 (2 ) + 3 (1 ) (0 )
= 6 3(5) + 3(4) 3
2

= 36.
It follows that
3 () =
=
=
=

)
3 (

[0 ] +
(0 )

=1
( )
( )
( )

2
3+
(0 ) +
(0 ) +
3 (0 )
1
1
2
( + 1)( 1)
( + 1)
16 +
(36)
3 + ( + 1)(7) +
2
6
3 7( + 1) + 8( + 1) 6( + 1)( 1).

Note that the forward-dierence formula computes the same form of the interpolating polynomial
as the Newton divided-dierence formula.
If we dene the backward dierence operator by
= 1 ,
for any sequence { }, then we obtain the Newton backward-dierence formula
() = [ ] +

(1)

=1

( ),

where = ( )/, and the preceding denition of the extended binomial coecient applies.
Example We will use the Newton backward-dierence formula
() = [ ] +

(1)

=1

( )

to compute the interpolating polynomial 3 () that ts the data

0
1
2
3

1
0
1
2

( )
3
4
5
6

In other words, we must have 3 (1) = 3, 3 (0) = 4, 3 (1) = 5, and 3 (2) = 6. Note that the
interpolation points 0 = 1, 1 = 0, 2 = 1 and 3 = 2 are equally spaced, with spacing = 1.

To apply the backward-dierence formula, we dene = ( 3 )/ = 2 and compute

(
)

=
1
= ( 2),
(
)
( 1)

=
2
2
( + 1)
=
2
( 2)( 1)
=
,
2
(
)
( 1)( 2)

=
3
6
( + 1)( + 2)
=
6
( 2)( 1)
,
=
6
[3 ] = (3 )
= 6,
(3 ) = (3 ) (2 )
= 6 5
= 11,
2

(3 ) = ( (3 ))
= [ (3 ) (2 )]
= [ (3 ) (2 )] [ ( 2) (1 )]
= (3 ) 2 (2 ) + (1 )
= 6 2(5) + 4,
= 20
3

(3 ) = (2 (3 ))
= [ (3 ) 2 (2 ) + (1 )]
= [ (3 ) (2 )] 2[ (2 ) (1 )] + [ (1 ) (0 )]
= (3 ) 3 (2 ) + 3 (1 ) (0 )
= 6 3(5) + 3(4) 3
= 36.

It follows that
3 () = [3 ] +

(1)

=1

(3 )

)
(
)

2
= 6
(3 ) +
(3 )
3 (3 )
1
2
( 2)( 1)
( 2)( 1)
(20)
(36)
= 6 [( 2)](11) +
2
6
= 6 11( 2) 10( 2)( 1) 6( 2)( 1).

Note that the backward-dierence formula does not compute the same form of the interpolating
polynomial () as the Newton divided-dierence formula. Instead, it computes a dierent Newton
form of () given by
() =

=0

[ , +1 , . . . , ]

( )

=+1

= [ ] + [1 , ]( ) + [2 , 1 , ]( 1 )( ) +
+ [0 , 1 , . . . , ]( 1 )( 2 ) ( 1 )( ).
The divided-dierences [ , . . . , ], for = 0, 1, . . . , , can be obtained by constructing a divideddierence table as in the rst example. These divided dierences appear in the bottom row of the
table, whereas the divided dierences used in the forward-dierence formula appear in the top row.