Synthetic Division
We all love shortcuts! Synthetic division is a
shortcut method for dividing a polynomial by a
simple divisor of the form (x - n). The divisor
must be of that form in order for synthetic
division to work. If it's not, you'll have to use
long division.
Synthetic division uses only the coefficients of
a polynomial, or the constants in front of each
x-term, so it saves a ton of writing compared
to using long division of polynomials.
Zeros of Polynomial Functions
Descartes' rule of sign
Descartes' rule of sign is used to determine the
number of real zeros of a polynomial function.It
tells us that the number of positive real zeroes
in a polynomial function f(x) is the same or less
than by an even numbers as the number of
changes in the sign of the coefficients. The
number of negative real zeroes of the f(x) is the
same as the number of changes in sign of the
coefficients of the terms of f(-x) or less than this
by an even number
ex 1. (x^2 + 6x + 9)/(x + 3) = (x + 2) + 0,
because x = -3 is a root of y=x^2 + 6x + 9
Rational Zero Theorem:The rational
fraction A/B is a root of the polynomial F(x)
IF and ONLY IF A is a factor of the constant
term and B is a factor of the leading
coefficient.
What is the Root of an Equation?
The root of an equation is that value of the
variable (usually x), which when
substituted in the equation would give 0.
Use the Factor Theorem to determine
whether x – 1 is a factor of
f (x) = 2x4 + 3x2 – 5x + 7.
For x – 1 to be a factor of f (x) = 2x4 + 3x2 – 5x
+ 7, the Factor Theorem says that x = 1 must
be a zero of f (x). To test whether x – 1 is a
factor, I will first set x – 1 equal to zero and
solve to find the proposed zero, x = 1. Then I
will use synthetic division to divide f (x) by x =
1. Since there is no cubed term, I will be
careful to remember to insert a "0" into the
first line of the synthetic division to represent
the omitted power of x in 2x4 + 3x2 – 5x + 7:
completed division: 2 2 5 0 7
Since the remainder is not zero, then the
Factor Theorem says that:
x – 1 is not a factor of f (x).
polynomial equation. Apart from the Integral
Zero Theorem; Factor Theorem and Rational
Zero Theorem are few other theorems that are
used to find the possible roots of an equation.
Once we have discussed the Integral Zero
Theorem, we will take a brief glimpse into
these two theorems as well.
Theorem of Integral Zero:
The Integral Zero Theorem states that:
The integer A is the root of the equation F(x) =
ax^2 + bx + c IF and ONLY IF, A is a factor of the
constant term c. (Constant term being a term
in the equation of x without x in it)
For example, consider the equation
F(x) = x^2 + 18x + 9
Here the constant term is 9 and a possible root
is -3 (being a factor of 9).
A Corollary to Integral Zero Theorem:
Factor Theorem and Rational Zero Theorem: a
corollary to integral zero theorem
Factor Theorem states that the polynomial (x-A)
is a divisor (and factor) of the polynomial F(x) IF
and ONLY IF A is a root or zero of F(x)
Rational Zeros Theorem
Roots of a Polynomial
A root or zero of a function is a number
that, when plugged in for the variable,
makes the function equal to zero. Thus, the
roots of a polynomial P(x) are values of x
such that P(x) = 0.
The Rational Zeros Theorem
The Rational Zeros Theorem states:
If P(x) is a polynomial with integer
coefficients and if is a zero of P(x) (P( ) =
0), then p is a factor of the constant term
of P(x) and q is a factor of the leading
coefficient of P(x).
RATIONAL ZERO (OR ROOT) THEOREM
If , where
are integer coefficients and the reduced
fraction is a rational zero, then p is a
factor of the constant term and q is a
factor of the leading coefficient .
Example 1: Use the Rational Zero Theorem
to list all the possible rational zeros for .
Step 1: List all of the factors of the
constant.
The factors of the constant term 12 are .
Step 2: List all of the factors of the leading
coefficient
The factors of the leading coefficient -1 are
Step 3: List all the POSSIBLE rational zeros
or roots.
Writing the possible factors as we get:
Example: Find all the rational zeros of
P(x) = x3 -9x + 9 + 2x4 -19x2.

P(x) = 2x4 + x3 -19x2 - 9x + 9

Factors of constant term: ±1, ±3, ±9.
Factors of leading coefficient: ±1, ±2.
Possible values of : ± , ± , ± , ± , ± , ± .
These can be simplified to: ±1, ± , ±3, ± ,
±9, ± .
Use synthetic division: Graphs of Polynomial Functions
A polynomial function is a function that can
be written in the form
, where
are real numbers and n is a nonnegative
Leading Coefficient integer.
When the polynomial function is written in
standard form, Leading Term
the leading coefficient is . When the polynomial function is written in
standard form,
Degree of a Polynomial Function the leading term is .
When the polynomial function is written in
standard form,
the degree of the polynomial function is n.

The Leading Coeficcient Test

There are four cases that go with this test:

Given a polynomial function in standard

form :

Case 1:
If n is odd AND the leading coefficient , is positive, the
graph falls to the left and rises to the right:

Case 2:
If n is odd AND the leading coefficient , is
negative, the graph rises to the left and falls to the right.

Case 3:
If n is even AND the leading coefficient , is
positive, the graph rises to the left and to the right.
 Case 4:
If n is even AND the leading coefficient , is
negative, the graph falls to the left and to the right.

Example 1: Use the Leading Coefficient Test to determine the end behavior of the graph

of the polynomial .

leading term
If you said