PiecewiseIn mathematics, a piecewise-defined function (also called a piecewise function, a hybrid function, or definition by cases) is a function defined by multiple sub-functions, where each sub-function applies to a different interval in the domain. Piecewise definition is actually a way of expressing the function, rather than a characteristic of the function itself. A distinct, but related notion is that of a property holding piecewise for a function, used when the domain can be divided into intervals on which the property holds.
Linear interpolationIn mathematics, linear interpolation is a method of curve fitting using linear polynomials to construct new data points within the range of a discrete set of known data points. If the two known points are given by the coordinates and , the linear interpolant is the straight line between these points. For a value in the interval , the value along the straight line is given from the equation of slopes which can be derived geometrically from the figure on the right. It is a special case of polynomial interpolation with .
Differential equationIn mathematics, a differential equation is an equation that relates one or more unknown functions and their derivatives. In applications, the functions generally represent physical quantities, the derivatives represent their rates of change, and the differential equation defines a relationship between the two. Such relations are common; therefore, differential equations play a prominent role in many disciplines including engineering, physics, economics, and biology.
Numerical analysisNumerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation (as opposed to symbolic manipulations) for the problems of mathematical analysis (as distinguished from discrete mathematics). It is the study of numerical methods that attempt at finding approximate solutions of problems rather than the exact ones. Numerical analysis finds application in all fields of engineering and the physical sciences, and in the 21st century also the life and social sciences, medicine, business and even the arts.
Finite difference methodIn numerical analysis, finite-difference methods (FDM) are a class of numerical techniques for solving differential equations by approximating derivatives with finite differences. Both the spatial domain and time interval (if applicable) are discretized, or broken into a finite number of steps, and the value of the solution at these discrete points is approximated by solving algebraic equations containing finite differences and values from nearby points.
Heun's methodIn mathematics and computational science, Heun's method may refer to the improved or modified Euler's method (that is, the explicit trapezoidal rule), or a similar two-stage Runge–Kutta method. It is named after Karl Heun and is a numerical procedure for solving ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with a given initial value. Both variants can be seen as extensions of the Euler method into two-stage second-order Runge–Kutta methods.
Linear differential equationIn mathematics, a linear differential equation is a differential equation that is defined by a linear polynomial in the unknown function and its derivatives, that is an equation of the form where a0(x), ..., an(x) and b(x) are arbitrary differentiable functions that do not need to be linear, and y′, ..., y(n) are the successive derivatives of an unknown function y of the variable x. Such an equation is an ordinary differential equation (ODE).
Polynomial interpolationIn numerical analysis, polynomial interpolation is the interpolation of a given bivariate data set by the polynomial of lowest possible degree that passes through the points of the dataset. Given a set of n + 1 data points , with no two the same, a polynomial function is said to interpolate the data if for each . There is always a unique such polynomial, commonly given by two explicit formulas, the Lagrange polynomials and Newton polynomials.
Multivariate interpolationIn numerical analysis, multivariate interpolation is interpolation on functions of more than one variable (multivariate functions); when the variates are spatial coordinates, it is also known as spatial interpolation. The function to be interpolated is known at given points and the interpolation problem consists of yielding values at arbitrary points . Multivariate interpolation is particularly important in geostatistics, where it is used to create a digital elevation model from a set of points on the Earth's surface (for example, spot heights in a topographic survey or depths in a hydrographic survey).
Homogeneous differential equationA differential equation can be homogeneous in either of two respects. A first order differential equation is said to be homogeneous if it may be written where f and g are homogeneous functions of the same degree of x and y. In this case, the change of variable y = ux leads to an equation of the form which is easy to solve by integration of the two members. Otherwise, a differential equation is homogeneous if it is a homogeneous function of the unknown function and its derivatives.
