Linear Algebra - Cubic Equation from Given Points

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Linear Algebra -- Cubic Equation from Given Points

Homework Statement



Find the equation to the third polynomial that flows through the given points: (0,1); (1,0); (-1,0); (2, -15).

Homework Equations



f(t) = a + bt + ct^2 + dt^4

Need to find a, b, c, and d.

The Attempt at a Solution



See attachment. When I plug my answer back in, it obviously doesn't work; however, I cannot figure out where I missed up the matrix.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Last edited:
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There is an error in the last column of your third matrix. You did not subtract 1 in the last column. It should be 0 2 4 8 -16, not -15.
 


Thanks for catching that mistake. Found another algebra mistake in another matrix, but all in all, I figured everything out. Thanks again for pointing out my miscue.
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
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