Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Polynomials
March 29, 2021
Polynomials
Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Outline
1 Definition and Examples
2 Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
3 Division of Polynomials
4 Factor and Remainder Theorems
Polynomials
Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Definition and Examples of Polynomials
An expression of the form
p(x) = an x n + an−1 x n−1 + an−2 x n−2 + · · · + a1 x + a0
where an 6= 0, n is a positive integer and a0 , a1 , ..., an are
constants, is called a polynomial of degree n.
Each of a0 , a1 x, a2 x 2 , ..., an x n is called a term of the polynomial.
a0 , a1 , a2 , ..., an are called the coefficients of the polynomial: an is
the leading coefficient and a0 is the constant term.
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
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Definition and Examples of Polynomials
Some examples of polynomials are as follows
1. p(x) = a0 , a constant. This is called a constant polynomial or
a polynomial of degree zero. e.g. p(x) = 5.
2. p(x) = a1 x + a0 . This is called a linear polynomial or a
polynomial of degree 1. e.g. p(x) = 2x + 3.
3. p(x) = a2 x 2 + a1 x + a0 . This is called a quadratic polynomial
or a polynomial of degree 2. E.g p(x) = 5x 2 − 2x + 3.
4. p(x) = a3 x 3 + a2 x 2 + a1 x + a0 . This is called a cubic
polynomial or a polynomial of degree 4. E.g
p(x) = 5 − 2x + x 3
and so on. √ 1
Note: The expressions x 2 − 3 and x + x 3 − 6 are not
polynomials (why?).
Polynomials
Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Addition and Subtraction of Polynomials
To add or subtract polynomials, we add or subtract the
corresponding terms of the polynomials.
Example 1
Let p(x) = 2x 3 − x 2 − 5x + 3 and
q(x) = 3x 4 − 5x 3 + 2x 2 − x + 6. Find
(i). p(x) + q(x)
(ii). p(x) − q(x)
(iii). p(x) + 2q(x).
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Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
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Factor and Remainder Theorems
Solution
p(x) = 2x 3 − x 2 − 5x + 3, q(x) = 3x 4 − 5x 3 + 2x 2 − x + 6.
(i). p(x) + q(x) = 2x 3 − x 2 − 5x + 3 + 3x 4 − 5x 3 + 2x 2 − x + 6 =
3x 4 +2x 3 −5x 3 −x 2 +2x 2 −5x −x +3+6 = 3x 4 −3x 3 +x 2 −6x +9
(ii). p(x) − q(x) = 2x 3 − x 2 − 5x + 3 − (3x 4 − 5x 3 + 2x 2 − x + 6) =
2x 3 − x 2 − 5x + 3 − 3x 4 + 5x 3 − 2x 2 + x − 6 =
−3x 4 + 7x 3 − 3x 2 − 4x − 3.
(iii). p(x)+2q(x) = 2x 3 −x 2 −5x +3+2(3x 4 −5x 3 +2x 2 −x +6) =
2x 3 − x 2 − 5x + 3 + 6x 4 − 10x 3 + 4x 2 − 2x + 12 =
6x 4 − 8x 3 + 3x 2 − 7x + 15.
Polynomials
Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Product of Polynomials
Polynomials are multiplied through the usual method of expansion
of brackets.
Example 2
Find the product of the polynomials p(x) = 2x 2 + x + 3 and
q(x) = x 3 − 4x 2 + 1.
Solution
p(x) · q(x) = (2x 2 + x + 3)(x 3 − 4x 2 + 1)
= 2x 2 (x 3 − 4x 2 + 1) + x(x 3 − 4x 2 + 1) + 3(x 3 − 4x 2 + 1)
= 2x 5 − 8x 4 + 2x 2 + x 4 − 4x 3 + x + 3x 3 − 12x 2 + 3
= 2x 5 − 7x 4 − x 3 − 10x 2 + x + 3
Polynomials
Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Division of Polynomials
A polynomial p(x) can be divided by a polynomial, a(x) of lesser
degree to obtain the quotient q(x) and the remainder r (x). In this
case, we have
p(x) = a(x)q(x) + r (x) (1)
Equation (1) is similar to what obtains during the division of
integers. For example
7 1
=2
3 3
.Therefore
7 = (3 × 2) + 1.
Polynomials
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Division of Polynomials
We shall illustrate division of polynomials using a method similar
to the method of long division of numbers, using the following
examples.
Example 3
Find the quotient and remainder when
1. 5x 3 − 3x + 7 is divided by x − 4.
2. 6x 4 + x 3 + 13x + 10 is divided by 2x 2 − x + 4
3. x 4 − x 3 + 7x + 2 is divided by x 2 + x − 1
Polynomials
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
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Factor and Remainder Theorems
Solution 1
Polynomials
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Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
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Factor and Remainder Theorems
Solution 2
Polynomials
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Solution 3
Polynomials
Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Remainder Theorem
When the divisor is a linear polynomial, we can determine the
remainder without going through the process of polynomial long
division by simply applying the remainder theorem.
Theorem (Remainder Theorem)
If a polynomial p(x) is divided by ax + b, the remainder is the
constant p(− ba ).
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
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Factor and Remainder Theorems
Proof.
If p(x) is divided by ax + b, then by equation (1), p(x) can be
written as
p(x) = (ax + b)q(x) + r (2)
where q(x) is the quotient and r is the remainder.
Putting x = −ba in equation(2), we obtain
b b
p(− ) = (a(− ) + b)q(x) + r = (−b + b)q(x) + r = r
a a
Hence,
b
r = p(− )
a
Polynomials
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Example 4
1. Find the remainder when the polynomial x 3 + 3x 2 − 2x + 1 is
divided by 2x − 1
2. Find the remainder when the polynomial
x 4 − x 3 + 2x 2 − 7x − 2 is divided by x − 2
3. When x 3 + ax 2 + bx + 5 is divided by x − 2 the remainder is
23. When divided by x + 1the remainder is 11. Find the
values of a and b.
solution:
1. Let p(x) = x 3 + 3x 2 − 2x + 1. Therefore, the remainder is
1 1 1 1 1 3 7
p( ) = ( )3 + 3( )2 − 2( ) + 1 = + − 1 + 1 = .
2 2 2 2 8 4 8
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Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
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Factor and Remainder Theorems
Solution
2. Let p(x) = x 4 − x 3 + 2x 2 − 7x − 2. Then the remainder is
p(2) = 24 − 23 + 2(2)2 − 7(2) − 2 = 16 − 8 + 8 − 14 − 2 = 0.
3. When p(x) = x 3 + ax 2 + bx + 5 is divided by x − 2, the
remainder is
p(2) = 23 + a(22 ) + 2b + 5 = 23
.This implies
2a + b = 5 (i)
Also, when divided by x + 1, the remainder is
p(−1) = (−1)3 + a(−1)2 − b + 5 = 11.
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Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
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Solution
This implies
a−b =7 (ii)
Adding equations (i) and (ii), we have
3a = 12
a=4
Substituting a = 4 in equation (ii), we have
4−b =7
b = −3
Polynomials
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
The Factor Theorem
The factor theorem is a special case of the remainder theorem.
Theorem
Let p(x) be a polynomial. Then
1. if ax + b is a factor of p(x), then p(− ba ) = 0;
2. if p(− ba ) = 0, then ax + b is a factor of p(x)
Polynomials
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Example 5
1. Show that x − 1 is a factor of 6x 3 + 11x 2 − 5x − 12.
2. Hence, factorize 6x 3 + 11x 2 − 5x − 12 completely.
Solution:
1. Let p(x) = 6x 3 + 11x 2 − 5x − 12. Then
p(1) = 6(1)3 + 11(1) − 5(1) − 12 = 0
Hence, by the factor theorem, x − 1 is a factor of
6x 3 + 11x 2 − 5x − 12
2. see the solution on the next page.
Polynomials
Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Polynomials
Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Example 6
Find the zeros of the polynomial p(x) = x 3 + 4x 2 + x − 6.
Note:
A real number α is called a zero of a polynomial p(x) if p(α) = 0.
Hence, to obtain the zeros of a polynomial p(x), we solve the
polynomial equation p(x) = 0.
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Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
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Solution
First, we factorize p(x) = x 3 + 4x 2 + x − 6 using the factor
theorem. Observe that
p(−2) = (−2)3 + 4(−2)2 − 2 − 6 = −8 + 16 − 2 − 6 = 0.
Therefore x + 2 is a factor of p(x). Next, we divide p(x) by
x + 2(see the next slide). Hence, p(x) = 0 implies
(x + 2)(x − 1)(x + 3) = 0
. Therefore, the zeros of p(x) are x = −3, −2, and 1.
Polynomials
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Polynomials
Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
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Factor and Remainder Theorems
Example 7
Factorize the polynomial
p(x) = 2x 4 − 3x 3 − 12x 2 + 7x + 6
completely and hence solve the equation p(x) = 0
Solution:
First observe that any factor of p(x) is of the form ax + b, where a
is a factor of the leading coefficient,2, and b is a factor of the
constant term, 6. That is
a = ±1, ±2
b = ±1, ±2, ±3, ±6
Also note that,
i. the factor ax + b is not really a different factor from -ax-b.
And so we shall only consider the positive values of a.
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Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
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Factor and Remainder Theorems
Solution
ii. The factors cannot be 2x ± 2 or 2x ± 4, otherwise, 3 would be
a common factor of the coefficients of p(x), which it is not.
Therefore, we are left with the following possibilities:
x ± 1, x ± 2, x ± 3, x ± 6, 2x ± 1, 2x ± 6
We will test these by evaluating at
1 3
x = ∓1, x = ∓2, x = ∓3, x = ∓6, x = ∓ , x = ∓ .
2 2
4 3 2
p(1) = 2(1) − 3(1) − 12(1) + 7(1) + 6 = 2 − 3 − 12 + 7 + 6 = 0
Therefore, x − 1 is a factor of p(x).
p(−2) = 2(−2)4 −3(−2)3 −12(−2)2 +7(−2)+6 = 32+24−48−14+6 = 0
Hence, x + 2 is factor of p(x).
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Factor and Remainder Theorems
Next, we multiply the two factors to have
(x − 1)(x + 2) = x 2 + x − 2
Next, we divide p(x) by x 2 + x − 2(see the next slide) to obtain
p(x) = (x 2 + x − 2)(2x 2 − 5x − 3)
= (x − 1)(x + 2)[2x 2 − 6x + x − 3]
= (x − 1)(x + 2)[2x(x − 3) + 1(x − 3)]
= (x − 1)(x + 2)(2x + 1)(x − 3)
p(x) = 0 implies
(x − 1)(x + 2)(2x + 1)(x − 3) = 0
And so
x = 1 or 3 or −2, or − 21 .
Polynomials
Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems
Polynomials
