ABSTRACT
Suppose that we are given a table of (n+1) points where the x′s are distinct and satisfy
x0 < x1 < x2 < . . . < xn.
Our objective is to find a polynomial curve that passes through the given points (xi, yi), i = 0, 1, . . . , n. Hence, we need to find a polynomial p(x) such that
p(xi) = yi for i = 0, 1, . . . , n. (5.1)
This is a topic called interpolation. The polynomial p(x) is said to interpolate Table 5.1 and the points xi are called the nodes.
