The data in the table below indicate one spatial coordinate of an incoming missile as a function of time. We wish to estimate the value of the spatial coordinate at intermediate times by quadratic interpolation.Time (ms)Position (m)050852005245400530160054908005605You need to estimate the position at t = 500 ms. First, fit a quadratic to the positions at 0, 200, and 400 ms. Then, fit a second quadratic to the data at 400 and 600 ms with the additional constraint that the slopes of the first and second quadratics are the same at t = 400 ms. The first quadratic, that fits the first three positions, is x(t) = 5085 + 1.06t - 0.0013 t2 (where x is in meters and t is in milliseconds). Find the second quadratic and estimate the position at t = 500 ms. Which of the following positions best matches the position predicted by your second quadratic for t = 500 ms?

MCQs on Numerical Methods for Engineers.