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2.4. HOMEWORK 2

2.4

Homework 2

1. Some historical curves: the cissoid and the conchoid

(a) Consider a circle and a diameter AB of it (see Figure 2.1). Let m be the tangent in B to the
circle. For every point C on the circle, denote by Q the intersecttion point between m and AC
and let P AQ s.t. AP = CQ. The set of all points P as above, when C mouves on the circle, is
a curve named cissoid. Shows that this is an algebraic closed set (over the field of real numbers).
(b) Consider a line l, a point O and a distance d. For an arbitrary point P l, let Q1 and Q2 be
the points of OP , at distance d to P (see Figure 2.2). The set of all point Q1 and Q2 defined as
above, when P mouves on the line, is a curve named conchoid. Shows that this is an algebraic
closed set over R
2. Parametric curves. Let D be the set defined by
D = {(u, v) A2C : there is a number t C \ {i}, u =

t2
t3
,
v
=
}.
1 + t2
1 + t2

Prove that D is an algebraic plane curve, i.e. it can be described as the zero set of a system of
polynomial equations.
3. Applications to resultant. Suppose that f, g C[X] are polynomials of positive degree. The goal of
this problem is to determine a polynomial whose roots are (exactly) all the sum of a root of f plus a
root of g.
(a) Show that a complex number can be written as + , where f () = g() = 0 if and only if
the system of equations f (x) = g(y x) = 0 have a solution with y = .
(b) Show that is a root of Resx (f (x), g(y x)) if and only if = + , where f () = g() = 0.

(c) Construct a polynomial with coefficients in Q which has 2 + 3 3 as a root.

Figure 2.1: The pointwise construction of the cissoid

Figure 2.2: The pointwise construction of a conchoid