Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-approximation-theory-and-finite-element-methods-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2008/a/1/b/solution

For , set . It is monic by part (a), and its supremum norm on is . At the successive extreme points it alternates between and .
Suppose a monic degree- polynomial had . At each , the difference would have the sign of . These signs alternate, so the intermediate value theorem forces a root in each of the successive gaps. But the leading monic terms cancel, making , a contradiction. Therefore
This is the monic monic Chebyshev extremal polynomial. The positive-degree restriction matters: at the printed scaling gives the constant two, while the only monic constant is one, so that version is false. The customary theorem uses .

New to topics? Read the docs here!