Intermediate Algebra 03 - Polynomial Equations

A. Polynomial Equations
A polynomial equation is an equation that has multiple terms made up of numbers and variables. Polynomials can
have different exponents. The highest exponent is called the degree of the polynomial. The degree tells us how many
roots a polynomial equation has. If the highest exponent is three, then the equation has three roots.

The roots of the polynomial equation are the values of x where y = 0. If we know what the roots of the polynomial
equation are, we can use them to write the polynomial equation.

Review of Synthetic Division

Divide the following polynomials
1. x2+5x+6 ÷ x+2
2. 3x3 – 2x2 + 3x – 4 ÷ x – 3
3. x3 – 1 ÷ x-1

Remainder Theorem
“When we divide a polynomial f(x) with x-c the remainder is f(c).”

Example
Given the polynomial p(x) = x3 – 7x – 6, let's divide by the linear factor x – 4 (so a = 4):

f(4) = 30

Factor Theorem
“A polynomial f(x) has a factor (x−k) if and only if f(k)=0 where f(x) is a polynomial of degree n≥1 and k is any
real number”

Example
Given f(x)=x3+6x2−x−30; check if x+3 is a factor of f(x).

f(-3) = -27 + 6(9) – (-3) – 30 = 0

Exercise
1. Show that (x-2) is a factor of P(x) = x5 – 4x3 – 3x2 + 10x - 8

Zeroes of Polynomial Functions

Using the Rational Zero Theorem
Review: A rational zero is a rational number that produces a function value of 0. It can be visualized as
f ( x )  0 where x is a rational number (can be written as a ratio). On the graph it is an x-intercept.
The Rational Zero Theorem will help to identify possible rational zeros.

The Rational Zero Theorem If f ( x )  an x n  ...a1 x  a0 has integer coefficients, then every rational zero of
p factor of constant term a0
f has the following form: 
q factor of leading coefficient an
 The first important step is to list the possible rational zeros. After they are listed, we can test them using
synthetic division to determine if they are rational zeros. If the value of the possible rational zeros = 0,
they are called zeros.

List the possible rational zeros:

Example

Find the possible rational zeros of f ( x )  x  7 x  12

2

Step 1: The leading coefficient is 1. 1 is the only factor of 1.

Step 2: The constant is 12. All of the factors of 12 are 1,  2,  3,  4, 6,  12 .

1 2 3 4 6 12
Step 3: List the possible factors -  ,  ,  ,  ,  , and 
1 1 1 1 1 1
*If we factored the quadratic, we would find that 3 and  4 are zeros.

Example
Find the possible rational zeros of f ( x )  3x  7 x  12 x  5
3 2

Step 1: The leading coefficient is 3. The factors of 3 are 1 and 3.

Step 2: The constant is -5. All of the factors of -5 are 5,  1 .

1 5 1 5
Step 3: List the possible factors -  ,  ,  , 
1 1 3 3
*We will not test for actual zeros for this example.

When the leading coefficient is not 1, the list of possible zeros can increase dramatically. There are many
tools that are used to find the rational zeros. Examples that follow will demonstrate some of them.

Example
Find all the real zeros of f  x   x 3  72  5x 2  18x

Step 1: Put the function in standard order. f  x   x 3  5x 2  18x  72

Step 2: List possible rational zeros (1, 2,3, 4,6,8,9,12,18, 24,36,72)

Step 3: Try the possible zeros until you find one.

11  5  18 72 1 1  5  18 72 31  5  18 72
1 4  22 1 4 14 3  6  72
1 4  22 50 1  4  14 86 1 2  24 0

Since the polynomial degree is reduced, the function can be written as:

Then factored: f  x    x  3  x 2  2 x  24 
f  x    x  3 x  6  ( x  4)

Zeros:  x  3  0  x  6  0 ( x  4)  0
\
x3 x6 x  4
Exercises: Find all zeros of the function and write the polynomial as a product of linear factors.

1. f  x   3x3  12 x 2  3x  18
2. f(x) = 3x4 – 10x3 + 3x2 + 12x – 4
3. f(x) = 2x4 – 13x3 + 19x2 + 10x - 24
4. f ( x)  x 3  2 x 2  5 x  6
5. f ( x)  x  5x  4 x  20
3 2

6. f(x) = 2x5 – 3x4 – 9x3 + 3x2 – 11x + 6

7. x6 + 9x5 + 11x4 – 22x3 – 9x2 – 11x + 21 = 0

Polynomial Inequalities
The first step in solving a polynomial inequality is to find the polynomial's zeroes (its x-intercepts). Between any two
consecutive zeroes, the polynomial will be either positive or negative. Since the inequality is asking for positivity
("greater than zero") or negativity ("less than zero"), finding the intercepts ("equal to zero") is the way to get started.
If you think of the problem graphically, the zeroes are where the polynomial crosses the x-axis; between any two-
consecutive crossing-points, the polynomial will either be above the axis (and thus positive) or below it (and thus
negative)
Example
Find the solution of x3 – 5x2 – 22x + 56 > 0.
1. Factor the polynomial x3 – 5x2 – 22x + 56.
(x+4)(x-2)(x-7) = 0
2. Write the zeroes in intervals in a table

Exercises
Find the solution of
1. x2 – 2x – 8 ≥ 0
2. x2 + 4x + 3 ≤ 0
3. x3 – x2 – 9x + 9 < 0
4. x4 – 8x3 + 2x2 + 80x – 75 ≤ 0.
5. 2x6 + 17x5 + 45x4 + 19x3 – 71x2 – 48x + 36 ≤ 0.

Rational Algebraic Inequalities

Solving rational inequalities is very similar to solving polynomial inequalities. But because rational expressions
have denominators (and therefore may have places where they're not defined), you have to be a little more careful
in finding your solutions.
 To solve a rational inequality, you first find the zeroes (from the numerator) and the undefined points (from the
denominator). You use these zeroes and undefined points to divide the number line into intervals. Then you find
the sign of the rational on each interval.
Example

Exercises
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6. (2x2 + x4 – 30) / (x4 – 4x3 + 9x2 – 20x + 20) < 0

Relations and Functions

Suppose that Adam, Patrice, and Scott are college roommates and suppose that their weights are 180 lbs, 190 lbs, and
180 lbs respectively. The pairing of the roommates’ names with their weights is a relation. In this example, we are
relating a set of names with a set of weights. The set of names Adam, Patrice, Scott is the domain of this relation
while their weights 180lbs,190lbs is the range. Notice that 180 lbs is listed only once in the range. There is no need
to list an element of either set more than once.

A relation can be represented as a set of ordered pairs with the elements of the domain listed first. The relation (A)
above can be written as the set of ordered pairs { (Adam, 180 lbs), (Patrice, 190 lbs), (Scott, 180 lbs) }.

Let’s now switch the domain and range of the first relation. The new relation (B) can be written as the set of ordered
pairs {(180 lbs, Adam), (180 lbs, Scott), (190 lbs, Patrice)}.

Suppose that a delivery man was to deliver a package to the roommate who weighs 180 lbs. Since there are two people
who weigh 180 lbs, there is no way to know for sure who this package belongs to. This Relation B is an example of a
relation that is not well-defined.
A well-defined relation has exactly one output (range) value for any input (domain) value. Well-defined relations are
called functions. Relation A is an example of a well-defined function.

Determine if Equations Represent Functions

Using the Vertical Line Test

Determining the Domain of a Function Given the Equation

Domain and Range
Domain: The set of possible input values to a function
Range: The set of possible output values of a function
The domain of a function y  f ( x) is the set of all values of x for which the function is defined. In other words, a
number x  a is in the domain of a function f if f ( a ) is a real number. For example, the domain of f ( x)  x 2 is all
real numbers since for any real number x  a , the value of f ( a )  a 2 is also a real number.
It is very helpful to classify a function to determine its domain. For example, the function f ( x)  x 2 belongs to a class of
functions called polynomial functions. The domain of every polynomial function is all real numbers.

Many functions can have restricted domains. For example, the quotient of two polynomial functions is called a rational
x5 9
function. The rational function f ( x )  is defined everywhere except when x  4 because the value f (4)  is
x4 0
undefined. Therefore, the domain of a rational function consists of all real numbers for which the denominator does not
equal zero

Root functions can also have restricted domains. Consider the root function f ( x)  x  1 . The number x  3 is in
the domain because f (3)  3  1  4  2 is a real number. However, 5 is not in the domain because
f (5)  5  1  4  2i is not a real number. Therefore, the domain of f ( x)  x  1 consists of all values of x
for which the radicand is greater than or equal to zero. The domain of g is the solution to the inequality x  1  0 .
x 1  0
x  1 Subtract 1 from both sides.
Therefore, the domain of f is  1,   . Root functions with roots that are odd numbers such as 3 or 5 can have negative
radicands. Therefore, the domain of a root function of the form f ( x)  n g ( x) where n is an odd positive integer
consists of all real numbers for which g ( x ) is defined.

Below is a quick guide for finding the domain of 3 specific types of functions:
Example 1.

While the given set does indeed represent a relation (because x's and y's are being related to each other), the set they
gave me contains two points with the same x-value: (2, –3) and (2, 3). Since x = 2 gives me two possible destinations
(that is, two possible y-values), then this relation is not a function.

Example 2: Determine the domain of the given function.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2: Determine the domain of the given function

Exercise 3: Determine the domain of the given function

Operations on Functions
Composition of Functions

Exercises

1. Given f (x) = 3x + 2 and g(x) = 4 – 5x, find (f + g)(x), (f – g)(x), (f × g)(x), and (f / g)(x).
2. Given f (x) = 2x, g(x) = x + 4, and h(x) = 5 – x3, find (f + g) (2), (h – g) (2), (f × h) (2), and (h / g) (2).
3. Given f (x) = 3x2 – x + 4, find the simplified form of the following expression, and evaluate at h = 0:

4. Given f(x) = 2x + 3 and g(x) = –x2 + 5, find (g o f )(1).

5. Given f(x) = 2x + 3 and g(x) = –x2 + 5, find ( f o g)(1).
6. Given f(x) = 2x + 3 and g(x) = –x2 + 5, find ( f o f )(1).

Graphing Quadratic Functions

The general technique for graphing quadratics is the same as for graphing
linear equations. However, since quadratics graph as curvy lines (called
"parabolas"), rather than the straight lines generated by linear equations,
there are some additional considerations.

The most basic quadratic is y = x2.

The general form of a quadratic is "y = ax2 + bx + c". For graphing, the leading
coefficient "a" indicates how "fat" or how "skinny" the parabola will be.

For | a | > 1 (such as a = 3 or a = –4), the parabola will be "skinny", because it

grows more quickly (three times as fast or four times as fast, respectively, in
the case of our sample values of a).

For | a | < 1 (such as a = 1/3 or a = –1/4 ), the parabola will be "fat",

because it grows more slowly (one-third as fast or one-fourth as
fast, respectively, in the examples). Also, if a is negative, then the
parabola is upside-down.

Parabolas always have a lowest point (or a highest point, if

the parabola is upside-down). This point, where the parabola
changes direction, is called the "vertex".

If the quadratic is written in the form y = a(x – h)2 + k, then

the vertex is the point (h, k). This makes sense, if you think about it.
The squared part is always positive (for a right-side-up parabola),
unless it's zero. So you'll always have that fixed value k, and then you'll always be adding something to it to make y
bigger, unless of course the squared part is zero. So the smallest y can possibly be is y = k, and this smallest value will
happen when the squared part, x – h, equals zero. And the squared part is zero when x – h = 0, or when x = h. The same
reasoning works, with k being the largest value and the squared part always subtracting from it, for upside-down
parabolas.
(Note: The "a" in the vertex form "y = a(x – h)2 + k" of the quadratic is the same as the "a" in the common form of the
quadratic equation, "y = ax2 + bx + c".)

Since the vertex is a useful point, and since you can "read off" the coordinates for the vertex from the vertex form of the
quadratic, you can see where the vertex form of the quadratic can be helpful, especially if the vertex isn't one of your T-
chart values. However, quadratics are not usually written in vertex form. You can complete the square to convert ax 2 +
bx + c to vertex form, but for finding the vertex, it's simpler to just use a formula. (The vertex formula is derived from the
completing-the-square process, just as is the Quadratic Formula. In each case, memorization is probably simpler than
completing the square.)

For a given quadratic y = ax2 + bx + c, the vertex (h, k) is found by computing h = –b/2a, and then evaluating y at h to find
k. If you've already learned the Quadratic Formula, you may find it easy to memorize the formula for k, since it is related
to both the formula for h and the discriminant in the Quadratic Formula: k = (4ac – b2) / 4a.

Example

Find the vertex of y = 3x2 + x – 2 and graph the parabola.

Exercises

1. Find the intercepts, the axis of symmetry, and vertex of y = x2 – x – 12.

2. Find the x-intercepts and vertex and line of symmetry of y = –x2 – 4x + 2.
3. Find the x-intercepts and vertex of y = –x2 + 2x – 4.
4. Identify the vertex, x-intercepts, y-intercept, and sketch the graph of f ( x)  ( x  3) 2  4 .
5. Find the equation of the parabola with vertex (3, 6) through the point (2, 4).
6. Find the equation of the parabola with vertex (-4, 11) through the point (-6, 15).

Maxima and Minima Word Problems

Example 1.
The value of a share of R. P. Mugs can be represented by V ( x)  x 2  6x  13, where x is the number of months
after January 2001. What is the lowest value V(x) will reach and when will this occur?

Answer: Since we are asked for the lowest value, we are looking for the minimum value of V(x) and when that
 b  b 
value will occur. We can find the minimum value by using the formula   , f     . Looking at V(x), we
 2a  2a  
know that a = 1 and b = -6. Plugging in these values we get the ordered pair (3, 4). This means that 3 months after
January 2001, or April 2001, the value of a share of R. P. Mugs will reach its lowest value of $4.

Answer: Since the farmer is going to enclose a rectangular garden with 40 feet of fence, the farmer is looking at the
perimeter of the garden. The perimeter of this garden is 40. Now we don’t know what the length l and the width w.
We do know that the sum of the 2 widths and the one length add up to the perimeter 40. (Note: we don’t need
another measure of length for the perimeter because we are using the side of a barn as one side of the garden. So,
we have the formula 2w  l  40.
Now, we want to find the maximum area of this garden. Well, we have the formula A  lw representing the
area of the garden. We have two variables here; we would like our formula to only be in one variable. Well, we can
solve for a variable in the perimeter equation and substitute it in. Solving for l gives, l  40  2w.

After substituting this in to the area formula, we get A(l )  20  2ww  2w 2  40.w

Since we want to find the maximum area, we can find the maximum of this quadratic function which will
give us the maximum width. Letting b = 40 and a = -2, we get 10 to be the width. Plugging 10 into the equation
l  40  2w gives l = 20. Thus, our maximum area is 200 feet2.
Exercise 1
A farmer decides to enclose a rectangular garden, using the side of a barn as one side of the rectangle. What is the
maximum area that the farmer can enclose with 40 feet of fence? What dimensions yield that maximum area?
Absolute Value Function

General Form of an Absolute Value Functions: For any absolute

value function, the general form is y = a|x – h| + k, where a controls
the width of the “V” and (h,k) is the vertex.

Exercises: Graph the following absolute value functions.

1. y = |x-2| + 1
2. y = 3|x-1| - 2
3. y = 2|x+3| - 1
4. y = -2|x-4| - 3
5. y = -|x+2| + 2