厦门大学数学科学学院本科双语教学课程.doc

Chapter 3 Interpolation and Polynomial Approximation A census of the population of the United States is taken every 10 years. The following table lists the population, in thousands of people, from 1940 t0 1990. Year 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Population 132165 151326 179323 203302 226542 249633 In reviewing these data, we might ask whether they could be used to provide a reasonable estimate of the population, say, in 1965 or even in the year 2010. Predictions of this typ