Polynomials

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Polynomials
A polynomial is a function of the form axn where a is a constant (this means that it has a fixed value)
and n is a positive integer.
Examples of polynomials are: (x2 + 3x) or (2x6 9x2) or (x 6)3
The 'degree of order' of the polynomial is the highest power of x.
For example:
2x5 3x2 + 6x is a polynomial of degree 5.
Polynomials can also be part of fractional functions (a function, that includes fractions). An example
is shown below:

There are two types of this kind of equation.

'Proper' fractions - ones where the degree of the numerator (the equation on the top) is less than the
degree of the denominator (the equation on the bottom). The equation above is an example of this.
'Improper' fractions - ones where the degree of the numerator is greater than or equal to the degree
of the denominator. An example of this is:

The Remainder Theorem

This is a nice simple method that helps you find the remainder when a polynomial is divided by a linear
function. You can find a teacher here to help teach you this common theorem.
The theorem states that when f(x) is divided by (x-a) the remainder is f(a). This means that
when you are given the equations to be divided, then the remainder is the value of the equation when
x = a.
For example: if we want to find the remainder when 2x3 x2 + 2 is divided by x 3, we write:

f(x) = 2x3 - x2 + 2

f(3) = 2(33) - 32 + 2

= (2 27) - 9 + 2 = 47.

The Factor Theorem

This theorem is linked to the remainder theorem in that if (x a) is a factor of the polynomial, there
will be no remainder. So, f(a) = 0.
Therefore, if you want to find if (x - a) is a factor of f(x), just check that f(a) = 0.
For example:
to check if x 2 is a factor of x3 6x2 + 6x 2
We substitute x = 2 into the function:

f(2) = 23 6(22) + 62 2

= 8 24 + 12 2

= -6

So f(2) is not equal to 0, and we conclude that x 2 is not a factor of the function x3 6x2 + 6x 2.
The factor theorem can also be used to factorise polynomials of greater degree than 2 and therefore
helps us solve some cubic, quartic, etc. equations.
Example:
Factorise as far as possible: x3 + 2x2 x 2

Firstly choose sensible values as possible factors - i.e. numbers that are factors of 2 (the constant).
i.e. try -2, -1, 1, 2. (Can you see why?)

F(2) = 8 + 8 2 2 0.

so (x 2) is not a factor.

F(1) = 1 + 2 1 2 = 0

so (x 1) is a factor.

F(-1) = -1 + 2 + 1 2 = 0

so (x + 1) is a factor

F(-2) = -8 + 8 + 2 2 = 0

so (x + 2) is a factor

Therefore,
x3 + 2x2 x 2 = (x 1)(x + 1)(x + 2)
Note: If you cannot find all the factors using the factor theorem, but have found one, then we can find
the others by multiplication, (or division), as follows:
If we know that (x 1) is a factor of x3 + 2x2 x 2, then,
x3 + 2x2 x 2 = (x 1)(x2 + bx + c) (cubic = linear quadratic)
x3 + 2x2 x 2 = x3 + (b 1)x2 + (c b)x c
Now match the terms to get:
c = -2 and b = 3 and so,
x3 + 2x2 x 2 = (x 1)(x2 + 3x + 2)

We can now factorise the quadratic part (or use the formula when solving the equation f(x) = 0), to
get:
(x2 + 3x + 2) = (x + 2)(x + 1)
Therefore,
x3 + 2x2 x 2 = (x 1)(x + 2)(x + 1)
And,
f(x) = 0 when x = 1, x = -1, and x = -2, which are the points where the graph y = f(x) crosses the xaxis.
Note: A useful piece of information when solving these problems is that,

a3 b3 = (a b)(a2 + ab + b2) and

a3 + b3 = (a + b)(a2 ab + b2)

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