Euclid Stage 3 Class 3 Notes

Polynomial Functions

1. Introduction

A polynomial function is a function such as a quadratic, a cubic, a quartic, and so on, involvingonly
non-negative integer powers of x. We can give a general defintion of a polynomial, anddefine its
degree.

2. What is a polynomial?

A polynomial of degree n is a function of the form

f ( x ) = an x n + an −1 x n −1 + ... + a2 x 2 + a1 x + a0

where the a’s are real numbers (sometimes called the coefficients of the polynomial). Although
this general formula might look quite complicated, particular examples are much simpler. For
example,
f ( x ) = 4 x3 −3x 2 + 2
is a polynomial of degree 3, as 3 is the highest power of x in the formula. This is called a cubic
polynomial, or just a cubic. And

f ( x ) = x 7 − 4 x5 + 1
is a polynomial of degree 7, as 7 is the highest power of x. Notice here that we don’t need everypower
of x up to 7: we need to know only the highest power of x to find out the degree. Anexample of a
kind you may be familiar with is

f ( x ) = 4x2 − 2x − 4
which is a polynomial of degree 2, as 2 is the highest power of x. This is called a quadratic.
Functions containing other operations, such as square roots, are not polynomials. For example,

f ( x ) = 4 x3 + x − 1
is not a polynomial as it contains a square root. And

f ( x ) = 5x4 − 2 x2 + 3 / x
is not a polynomial as it contains a ‘divide by x’.

Key Point

A polynomial is a function of the form

f ( x ) = an x n + an −1 x n −1 + ... + a2 x 2 + a1 x + a0 .

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Euclid Stage 3 Class 3 Notes

The degree of a polynomial is the highest power of x in its expression. Constant (non-zero)
polynomials, linear polynomials, quadratics, cubics and quartics are polynomials of degree
0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The function f ( x ) = 0 is also a polynomial, but we say that its
degree is ‘undefined’.

3. Roots of polynomial functions

You may recall that when ( x −a)( x − b) = 0 , we know that a and b are roots of the function
f ( x ) = ( x −a)( x − b) .

Now we can use the converse of this, and say that if a and b are roots, then the polynomial function
with these roots must be f ( x ) = ( x −a)( x − b) , or a multiple of this.

For example, if a quadratic has roots x = 3 and x = −2 , then the function must be
f ( x ) = ( x − 3)( x + 2 ) , or a constant multiple of this. This can be extended to polynomials of any
degree.

For example, if the roots of a polynomial are x = 1, x = 2, x = 3, x = 4 , then the function mustbe

f ( x ) = ( x − 1)( x − 2 )( x − 3)( x − 4 ) ,
or a constant multiple of this.

Let us also think about the function f ( x ) = ( x −2 ) . We can see straight away that x −2 = 0,
2

so that x = 2 . For this function we have only −one root. This is what we call a repeat−ed root, and a root
can be repeated any number of times.

For example, f ( x ) = ( x −2)3 ( x + 4 ) has a repeated root x = 2 , and another repeated root x = −4 . We
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say that the root x = 2 has multiplicity 3, and that the root x = −4 has multiplicity 4.

The useful thing about knowing the multiplicity of a root is that it helps us with sketching the graph of the
function. If the multiplicity of a root is odd then the graph cuts through the x-axis at the point (x, 0). But if the
multiplicity is even then the graph just touches the x-axis at the point (x, 0).
For example, take the function

f ( x ) = ( x − 3) ( x + 1) ( x − 2 ) ( x + 2 ) .
2 5 3 4

• The root x = 3 has multiplicity 2, so the graph touches the x-axis at ( 3, 0 ) .

• The root x = −1 has multiplicity 5, so the graph crosses the x-axis at ( −1, 0 ) .
• The root x = 2 has multiplicity 3, so the graph crosses the x-axis at ( 2, 0 ) .
• The root x = −2 has multiplicity 4, so the graph touches the x-axis at ( −2, 0 ) .

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Euclid Stage 3 Class 3 Notes

To take another example, suppose we have the function f ( x ) = ( x −2)2 ( x + 1) .

We can see that the largest power of x is 3, and so the function is a cubic. We know the possible
general shapes of a cubic, and as the coefficient of x 3 is positive the curve must generally increase
to−
the right and decrease to the left.

We can also see that the roots of the function are x = 2 and x = −1 . The root x = 2 has even
multiplicity and so the curve just touches the x-axis here, whilst x = −1 has odd multiplicity and so
here the curve crosses the x-axis. This means we can sketch the graph as follows.

Key Point

The number a is a root of the polynomial function f ( x ) if f ( a ) = 0 , and this occurs when ( x − a )
is a factor of f ( x ) .

If a is a root of f ( x ) , and if ( x − a ) is a factor of f ( x ) but ( x − a )

m m +1
is not a factor, then we
say that the root has multiplicity m.

At a root of odd multiplicity the graph of the function crosses the x-axis, whereas at a root of
even multiplicity the graph touches the x-axis.

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Euclid Stage 3 Class 3 Notes

In-class question

1. Let f be a function such that for all x, f ( x ) = f ( x + 1) + f ( x − 1) . Given that

f ( 20 ) = 15 and 20 = f (15 ) , compute f ( 20152015) .

2. Let f be the function defined by f ( x ) = x ³ − 49 x ² + 623x − 2015 , and let g ( x ) = f ( x + 5 ) .

Compute the sum of the roots of g.

3. Let f ( x ) = logb ( x ) and let g ( x ) = x ² − 4 x + 4 . Given that f ( g ( x ) ) = g ( f ( x ) ) = 0 has

exactly one solution and that b  1 , compute b.

4. Let P ( x ) be the polynomial x3 + Ax 2 + Bx + C for some constants A, B, and C.

There exist constants D and E such that for all x, P ( x + 1) = x ³ + Dx ² + 54 x + 37 and
P ( x + 2 ) = x ³ + 26 x ² + Ex + 115 . Compute the ordered triple ( A, B, C ) .

5. Let T = 75 . For each integer n, let f ( n ) be the remainder when n 2 − 1 is divided by 8.

Compute f (T ) + f (T + 1) + f (T + 2 ) + f (T + 3) .

6. Find all functions f : R → R which satisfy the identity f ( f ( xy ) ) = x f ( y ) + 3 f ( xy ) for all

real numbers x and y.

7. Compute the least positive N such that there exists a quadratic polynomial f ( x ) with integer
coefficients satisfying f ( f (1) ) = f ( f ( 5 ) ) = f ( f ( 7 ) ) = f ( f (11) ) = N .