ASE 211: Web Tutorial
Lagrange interpolation
Problem summary
- Our goal is to construct an interpolating function that fits a
given set of n data points (xi, fi) for i=1 to n.
- The Lagrange interpolation method yields a single function that
exactly fits all the data points.
Key solution concepts
- This method fits a single polynomial function to the data points.
Here are some fundamental things you should know about this type of
data fitting:
- The minimum degree of the polynomial that exactly fits (i.e.,
passes through) "n" data points is (n-1).
- This (n-1)th degree polynomial is unique. In other words, no
matter what method you use to construct the polynomial, you'll get the
same result [if it is of degree (n-1) and it passes through all "n"
data points].
- Lagrange interpolation is just one method to construct this polynomial.
