Scribd
Upload
38 views

Polynomial Functions

Guía para el estudiante

Uploaded by

Edwin Llantoy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
38 views

Polynomial Functions

Guía para el estudiante

Uploaded by

Edwin Llantoy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 12

Digital Lesson

Polynomial Functions
A polynomial function is a function of the form
f ( x)  an x n  an 1 x n 1    a1 x  a0 , an  0
where n is a nonnegative integer and each ai (i = 0, , n)
is a real number. The polynomial function has a leading
coefficient an and degree n.
Examples: Find the leading coefficient and degree of each
polynomial function.

Polynomial Function Leading Coefficient Degree


f ( x )  2 x 5  3 x 3  5 x  1 –2 5
f ( x)  x3  6 x 2  x  7 1 3
f ( x)  14 14 0

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 2


A real number a is a zero of a function y = f (x)
if and only if f (a) = 0.

Real Zeros of Polynomial Functions


If y = f (x) is a polynomial function and a is a real number then
the following statements are equivalent.
1. x = a is a zero of f.
2. x = a is a solution of the polynomial equation f (x) = 0.
3. (x – a) is a factor of the polynomial f (x).
4. (a, 0) is an x-intercept of the graph of y = f (x).

A polynomial function of degree n has at most n zeros.

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 3


Example: Find all the real zeros of
f (x) = x 4 – x3 – 2x2.
Factor completely:
f (x) = x 4 – x3 – 2x2 = x2(x + 1)(x – 2).
y
The real zeros are x = –1,
x = 0, and x = 2. 2
(–1, 0) (0, 0)
These correspond to the x
–2
x-intercepts. (2, 0)

f (x) = x4 – x3 – 2x2
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 4
Dividing Polynomials
Example: Divide x2 + 3x – 2 by x – 1 and check the answer.
x2
2
x + 2 1. x x   x
x
x  1 x 2  3x  2 2. x( x  1)  x 2  x
x2 + x 2 2
3. ( x  3x)  ( x  x)  2 x
2x – 2
2x
2x +2 4. x 2 x  2
x
–4
5. 2( x  1)  2 x  2
remainder 6. (2 x  2)  (2 x  2)  4
–4
Answer: x + 2 +
x 1
Check: (x + 2) (x + 1) + (– 4) = x2 + 3x – 2
quotient divisor remainder dividend
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 5
Synthetic division is a shorter method of dividing polynomials.
This method can be used only when the divisor is of the form
x – a. It uses the coefficients of each term in the dividend.

Example: Divide 3x2 + 2x – 1 by x – 2 using synthetic division.


Since the divisor is x – 2, a = 2.
value of a coefficients of the dividend
1. Bring down 3
2 3 2 –1 2. (2 • 3) = 6
3. (2 + 6) = 8
6 16
4. (2 • 8) = 16
3 8 15 5. (–1 + 16) = 15
coefficients of quotient remainder
15
Answer: 3x + 8 
x2
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 6
Remainder Theorem: The remainder of the division of a
polynomial f (x) by x – k is f (k).

Example: Using the remainder theorem, evaluate


f(x) = x 4 – 4x – 1 when x = 3.
value of x
3 1 0 0 –4 –1
3 9 27 69
1 3 9 23 68

The remainder is 68 at x = 3, so f (3) = 68.


You can check this using substitution: f(3) = (3)4 – 4(3) – 1 = 68.

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 7


Factor Theorem: A polynomial f(x) has a factor (x – k) if and
only if f(k) = 0.

Example: Show that (x + 2) and (x – 1) are factors of


f(x) = 2x 3 + x2 – 5x + 2.

–2 2 1 –5 2 1 2 –3 1
–4 6 –2 2 –1
2 –3 1 0 2 –1 0

The remainders of 0 indicate that (x + 2) and (x – 1) are factors.

The complete factorization of f is (x + 2)(x – 1)(2x – 1).

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 8


Rational Zero Test: If a polynomial f(x) has integer coefficients,
every rational zero of f has the form
p
rational zero =
q
where p and q have no common factors other than 1.
• p is a factor of the constant term.
• q is a factor of the leading coefficient.
Example: Find the rational zeros of f(x) = x3 + 3x2 – x – 3.

q=1 p=–3
The possible rational zeros are ±1 and ±3.
Synthetic division shows that the factors of f are (x + 3), (x + 1),
and (x – 1).
The zeros of f are – 3, – 1, and 1.
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 9
Descartes’s Rule of Signs: If f(x) is a polynomial with real
coefficients and a nonzero constant term,
1. The number of positive real zeros of f is equal to the number
of variations in sign of f(x) or less than that number by an
even integer.

2. The number of negative real zeros of f is equal to the


number of variations in sign of f(–x) or less than that number
by an even integer.

A variation in sign means that two consecutive, nonzero


coefficients have opposite signs.

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 10


Example: Use Descartes’s Rule of Signs to determine the
possible number of positive and negative real zeros of
f(x) = 2x4 – 17x3 + 35x2 + 9x – 45.
The polynomial has three variations in sign.
+ to – + to –

f(x) = 2x4 – 17x3 + 35x2 + 9x – 45


– to +
f(x) has either three positive real zeros or one positive real zero.

f(– x) = 2(– x)4 – 17(– x)3 + 35(– x)2 + 9(– x) – 45


=2x4 + 17x3 + 35x2 – 9x – 45
One change in sign
f(x) has one negative real zero.

f(x) = 2x4 – 17x3 + 35x2 + 9x – 45 = (x + 1)(2x – 3)(x – 3)(x – 5).


Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 11
Graphing Utility: Find the zeros of f(x) = 2x3 + x2 – 5x + 2.
10

– 10 10
Calc Menu:

– 10

The zeros of f(x) are x = – 2, x = 0.5, and x = 1.


Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 12

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy