In: Advanced Math
How many equations would you need to compute a series of cubic splines of the form ax^3 + bx^2 + cx + d to fit through 4 data points and why?
The picture contains the solution to the problem. The number of equation required for each cubic spline is 4. But however the question ask for a series of cubic splines in which case the number of terms in series of cubic spline is dependent on the number of data point. In general if there is n point, the number of cubic spline that can be drawn is n-3. In which case the number of equation is 4(n-3).