Chapter Summary

A polynomial expression in one variable x is an expression which can

be written in the form A n X+ An X + . . . + AX + Aa where An 0
and each coefficient is a real number and n is a nonnegative integer.
A polynomial function of degree n is a function which is defined by the
equation
P(x)= AnX+An1X+An2X+ . . . + AX+A

Where An, An, . . . , A are real constants, An 0, and nonnegative integer.

Synthetic division is a short method of dividing a polynomial in x by x -

r.
To solve a polynomial equation is to find the roots of the equation.
The leading coefficient of a polynomial is the coefficient of the first
term of a polynomial arranged in descending powers of the variable.
The division algorithm is the algebraic expression process of the form
Dividend= divisor (quotient) + remainder
The remainder theorem states that if a polynomial function P(x) is
divided by the binomial x c, then the constant remainder is equal to
P(c).
A prime polynomial is a polynomial that can no longer be factored.
The factor theorem states that if P(x) is a polynomial function, then the
binomial x c is a factor of P(x) if, and only if, P(c) =0.
If the factor x r occurs n times in the complete factorization of the
polynomial P(x), then r is a root of the equation P(x) =0 with
multiplicity n.
For a polynomial function P, if r is a number such that P(r) = 0, then r is
called a zero of the polynomial function, r may be a real or no real
number.
The number of variations of sign is the number of sign changes in a
polynomial as you go from left to right in an equation.
Following are the rules that can help you in solving polynomial
equations:
1. For every polynomial equation P(x) =0 of degree n, the number of
zeros is not more than n.
2. Use Descartes rule of sign to find the number of positive and
negative roots.
If P (x) = 0 is a polynomial equation with real coefficients, then
the number of positive roots of the equation is either equal to the
number of variations of the sign of P(x) or less than that by an even
number. The number of negative roots of the equation is either
equal to the number of variations in the sign of P(x) or less than
that by an even number.
3. The rational roots test
Let P(x) = AnX+AnX+An+ . . . +AX+ A
Where, An 0 and A 0, and each coefficient is an integer.
If P/q (in lowest terms) is a rational root of P(x) = 0, then p is an
integer factor A and q is an integer factor of A