Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2001/iii/paper-58/1/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 iii Paper 58 1 Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The cubic spline is even, so the symmetry of the normalized B-splines gives . It therefore suffices to extract three coefficients. The two polynomial pieces join with matching values and first two derivatives at zero, so the function belongs to the stated cubic spline space. At zero its right-hand derivatives areUse the supplied De Boor–Fix spline coefficient functional with the unnormalized knot polynomial . In this sign convention the coefficient isFor , . Taking the right-hand limit at kills the first three terms and gives . For the next two coefficients take the right-hand limit at zero. Their knot polynomials and derivatives there areConsequently and . Although the third derivative jumps at zero, its multiplier vanishes for these two functionals; taking either one-sided limit gives the same coefficients. Symmetry gives and . ThusFor a normalized B-spline basis, define the synthesis linear map from the maximum coefficient norm into the spline space with its supremum norm. Nonnegativity and partition of unity give , including equality on the all-ones vector. The coefficient condition number of a normalized B-spline basis isOn , . The only interior extremum is at , where ; at zero and one, . Reflection therefore gives . Its largest absolute coefficient is , proving
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