Chapter 05.

02
Direct Method of Interpolation More Examples
Chemical Engineering
Example 1
To find how much heat is required to bring a kettle of water to its boiling point, you are asked
to calculate the specific heat of water at 61C . The specific heat of water is given as a
function of time in Table 1.
Table 1 Specific heat of water as a function of temperature.
Temperature,
Specific heat,
Cp
T

C
22
42
52
82
100

kg C

4181
4179
4186
4199
4217

Determine the value of the specific heat at T 61C using the direct method of
interpolation and a first order polynomial.

05.02.1

05.02.2

Chapter 05.02

Figure 1 Specific heat of water vs. temperature.

Solution
For first order polynomial interpolation (also called linear interpolation), we choose the
specific heat given by
C p T a 0 a1T

x1 , y1

f1 x

x0 , y0
x
Figure 2 Linear interpolation.

Direct Method of Interpolation More Examples: Chemical Engineering

05.02.3

Since we want to find the specific heat at T 61C , and we are using a first order
polynomial, we need to choose the two data points that are closest to T 61C that also
bracket T 61C to evaluate it. The two points are T0 52 and T1 82 .
Then
T0 52, C p T0 4186

T1 82, C p T1 4199

gives

C p 52 a 0 a1 52 4186
C p 82 a 0 a1 82 4199

Writing the equations in matrix form, we have

1 52 a 0
4186
1 82 a 4199

Solving the above two equations gives

a 0 4163.5

a1 0.43333

Hence

C p T a 0 a1T
4163.5 0.43333T , 52 T 82

At T 61 ,

C p 61 4163.5 0.43333 61
4189.9

J
kg C

Example 2
To find how much heat is required to bring a kettle of water to its boiling point, you are asked
to calculate the specific heat of water at 61C . The specific heat of water is given as a
function of time in Table 2.
Table 2 Specific heat of water as a function of temperature.
Temperature,
Specific heat,
Cp
T

C
22
42
52
82
100

kg C

4181
4179
4186
4199
4217

Determine the value of the specific heat at T 61C using the direct method of
interpolation and a second order polynomial. Find the absolute relative approximate error for
the second order polynomial approximation.

05.02.4

Chapter 05.02

Solution
For second order polynomial interpolation (also called quadratic interpolation), we choose
the specific heat given by
C p T a0 a1T a 2T 2

x1 , y1

x2 , y 2

f2 x

x0 , y 0
x
Figure 3 Quadratic interpolation.
Since we want to find the specific heat at T 61C , and we are using a second order
polynomial, we need to choose the three data points that are closest to T 61C that also
bracket T 61C to evaluate it. The three points are T0 42, T1 52, and T2 82.
Then
T0 42, C p T0 4179
T1 52, C p T1 4186

T2 82, C p T2 4199

gives

C p 42 a 0 a1 42 a 2 42 4179
2

C p 52 a 0 a1 52 a 2 52 4186
2

C p 82 a 0 a1 82 a 2 82 4199
2

Writing the three equations in matrix form, we have

1 42 1764 a0
4179
1 52 2704 a 4186

1 82 6724 a 2
4199
Solving the above three equations gives
a 0 4135.0

a1 1.3267

a 2 6.6667 10 3

Hence

Direct Method of Interpolation More Examples: Chemical Engineering

05.02.5

C p T 4135.0 1.3267T 6.6667 10 3 T 2 , 42 T 82

At T 61 ,

C p 61 4135.0 1.3267 61 6.6667 10 3 61

4191.2

J
kg C

The absolute relative approximate error

second order polynomial is
a

obtained between the results from the first and

4191.2 4189.9
100
4191.2

0.030063%

Example 3
To find how much heat is required to bring a kettle of water to its boiling point, you are asked
to calculate the specific heat of water at 61C . The specific heat of water is given as a
function of time in Table 3.
Table 3 Specific heat of water as a function of temperature.
Temperature,
Specific heat,
Cp
T

C
22
42
52
82
100

kg C

4181
4179
4186
4199
4217

Determine the value of the specific heat at T 61C using the direct method of
interpolation and a third order polynomial. Find the absolute relative approximate error for
the third order polynomial approximation.
Solution
For third order polynomial interpolation (also called cubic interpolation), we choose the
specific heat given by
C p T a 0 a1T a 2T 2 a3T 3

05.02.6

Chapter 05.02

x3 , y 3
f 3 x

x1 , y1

x0 , y 0

x2 , y 2
x

Figure 4 Cubic interpolation.

Since we want to find the specific heat at T 61C , and we are using a third order
polynomial, we need to choose the four data points closest to T 61C that also bracket
T 61C to evaluate it. The four points are T0 42, T1 52, T2 82 and T3 100.
(Choosing the four points as T0 22 , T1 42 , T2 52 and T3 82 is equally valid.)
Then
T0 42, C p T0 4179
T1 52,
T2 82,

C p T1 4186

C p T2 4199

T3 100, C p T3 4217

gives

C p 42 a 0 a1 42 a 2 42 a 3 42 4179
2

C p 52 a 0 a1 52 a 2 52 a3 52 4186
2

C p 82 a 0 a1 82 a 2 82 a 3 82 4199
2

C p 100 a0 a1 100 a 2 100 a3 100 4217

2

Writing the four equations in matrix form, we have

1 42 1764 7.4088 10 4 a 0
4179

5
1 52 2704 1.4061 10 a1 4186
1 82 6724 5.5137 10 5 a 2
4199

6
10
4217
1 100 10000
a 3
Solving the above four equations gives
a 0 4078.0

a1 4.4771

Direct Method of Interpolation More Examples: Chemical Engineering

05.02.7

a 2 0.062720
a 3 3.1849 10 4

Hence

C p T a 0 a1T a 2T 2 a3T 3
4078.0 4.4771T 0.062720T 2 3.1849 10 4 T 3 ,

T 61 4078.0 4.4771 61 0.062720 61 3.1849 10

J
4190.0
kg C
2

The absolute relative approximate error

and third order polynomial is
a

42 T 100

61 3

obtained between the results from the second

4190.0 4191.2
100
4190.0

0.027295%

INTERPOLATION
Topic
Direct Method of Interpolation
Summary Examples of direct method of interpolation.
Major
Chemical Engineering
Authors
Autar Kaw
Date
November 22, 2016
Web Site http://numericalmethods.eng.usf.edu