Bilinear square finite element ($Q_1=\mathrm{span}\{1,x,y,xy\}$)

A bilinear square finite element uses polynomials of degree at most one separately in each coordinate and takes values at the four corners as degrees of freedom. On the unit square its nodal shape functions are $(1-\xi )(1-\eta )$, $\xi (1-\eta )$, $\xi \eta$, and $(1-\xi )\eta$, in anticlockwise corner order. Each is a tensor product of one-dimensional linear shape functions. A function in this space need not be affine, since $\xi \eta$ has total degree two. On a physical square of side $h$, its Laplacian stiffness matrix has diagonal entries $2/3$, adjacent-corner entries $-1/6$ and opposite-corner entries $-1/3$. Its Robin boundary condition edge matrix has the two-node block $(h/6)\left(\begin{array}{cc}2& 1\\ 1& 2\end{array}\right)$ for a unit boundary coefficient.