Algebra Review

Polynomials
We begin our review with a discussion of a basic, but very important class of functions - polynomials.

Polynomial Function A polynomial function is any function f that has the form:
f  x =a n x na n−1 x n−1...a 2 x 2 a 1 x a 0 where n is an integer, and a 0, a 1, a 2, ... a n
are all constants. The constants a 0, a 1, a 2, ... a n are called coefficients.

Exercise 1 The following are all examples of polynomial functions. Evaluate each of these
functions at x=−1 , x=0 , x=1 , and x=2 .

a) f  x =x 3− x 2−2 x 2 b) g  x= x 3−x 22x−2

c) h  x =2 x 4 x 3−9 x 2−4 x4 d) k  x=3 x 5−4x 4−42 x 372 x 2

The variable used in a polynomial is typically x , although it does not have to be. We could use any
other letter (or any other symbol, for that matter) in place of x . In fact, the function
f r =r −r −2 r 2 is the exact same function as the function (a) in Exercise 1.
3 2

Domain and Range The domain of a function f is the set of all x values for which
f  x  exists. The range is the set of all possible values that can result from plugging a
number into f . Put another way, the domain is the set of all valid inputs, and the range
is the set of all possible outputs.

Finding the domain of a polynomial is not a very interesting task. If f is a polynomial, then f  x 
can be calculated for any value of x that we choose, so the domain of any polynomial is −∞ , ∞ .
The question of the range of a polynomial is somewhat more interesting.

Exercise 2 For each of the following sets, find a polynomial function that has that set as its range.

a) −∞ , ∞ b) [ 0, ∞ 

c) −∞ , 0 ] d) [ 4,∞ 

Degree of a Polynomial The degree of a polynomial is equal to the largest exponent

that shows up in any of the terms of the polynomial (ignoring any terms that have zero
coefficients).

Exercise 3 Determine the degree of each of the polynomials in Example 1.

It is worth noting that a constant function f  x =c is considered to be a polynomial of degree zero.

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One of the most frequent tasks we will perform with a polynomial is to find its roots.

Roots of a Function A root of a function f is any x where f  x =0 . In other words,

a root of a f is any x where the graph of f crosses the x-axis.

Functions exist having any possible number of roots, even infinitely many. However, the following
theorem provides us with a restriction to the number of roots a given polynomial can have.

Maximum Number of Roots of a Polynomial The number of roots of a function is

always less than or equal to the degree of the polynomial.

This theorem gives us a maximum number of roots that a particular polynomial can have, but doesn't
tell us the exact number of roots. The actual number of roots could be (just about) any natural number
less than the degree of the polynomial, even zero!

Exercise 4 Find an example of a polynomial with degree greater than zero and with no roots.

You will frequently find yourself needing to find the roots of some polynomial in your calculus
courses. This task can be a very difficult one when the degree of the polynomial is large, but is straight
forward when the degree is one or two. When the degree is one, we can simply set the polynomial
equal to zero, and solve for the the variable. When the degree is two, we can use the quadratric
formula.

Quadratic Formula Let f  x =a x 2b xc , where a ,b , and c are constants. The

roots of f are given by x= −b±  b −4 a c .

2

2a

The quadratic formula could result in two, one, or zero roots, depending on whether the expression
b 2−4 a c is positive, zero, or negative.

Exercise 5 Use the quadratic formula to find the roots of each of the following polynomials.

a) f  x =x 2−2  3 x3 b) g  x=2 x 22 x1

c) h  x =2 x 24 x1 d) k  x= x 2−4 x2

The task of finding the roots of a polynomial is closely related to the act of factoring the polynomial.

Factors of a Polynomial Assume f , g , and h are all polynomial functions, and that
f  x =g  x h x . In this case, we say that g and h are factors of f .

Exercise 6 Let f  x =x 3− x 2x3 and g  x= x1 . Use long division (which we will review
in class) to show that g is a factor of f and find a polynomial h such that f  x =g  x h x .

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Not every polynomial can be factored into (non-constant) polynomials with smaller degrees (we will
find examples of this soon). If a polynomial cannot be factored, we say that it is irreducible. If a
polynomial is factored down to a point where every one of its factors is irreducible, we say that it is
completely factored.

Irreducible Polynomials The only irreducible polynomials are first and second degree
polynomials. Every first degree polynomial is irreducible and some, BUT NOT ALL,
second degree polynomials are irreducible.

Completely Factoring Polynomials Every polynomial of degree three or higher can be

factored down to first and second degree irreducible polynomials.

Before we work some examples of this idea, we will discuss the connection between the roots of a
polynomial and its factors.

Factoring and Roots of Polynomials Assume f is a polynomial. A real number c is

a root of f (i.e. f c =0 ) if and only if x−c is a factor of f .

We saw in Exercise 6 that x1 is a factor of x 3− x 2x3 . That means that x=−1 is a root of
x − x x3 (verify this!). Looking at this theorem from the other direction: It is simple to see that
3 2

x=1 is a root of x 7− x 5x 4− x . This tells us automatically that x−1 is a factor of x 7− x 5x 4− x .

Exercise 7 Use the theorem we just stated to find an example of a second degree polynomial that
is irreducible. (Hint: If x=c is a root of a polynomial, then x−c is a factor of that polynomial,
and so it is NOT irreducible...)

Exercise 8 Completely factor and find all of the roots of the polynomials in Exercises 1 and 5.

The following rule can help with factoring certain polynomials.

Conjugates Assume that a and b are numbers, or any mathematical expressions.

Then the terms ab and a−b are said to be conjugates, and ab a−b=a 2−b2 .

For example, assume we wish to factor x 4 −9 . If we let a= x 2 and b=3 , then it is clear that
x 4 −9=a 2−b 2 , and so the previous theorem tells us that x 4 −9=ab  a−b= x 23 x 2−3 . We
could apply this again to see that  x 2−3= x  3 x−  3 . The polynomial x 23 has not roots, and
so it cannot be factored any further. Thus, x 4 −9= x 23 x  3 x− 3 is the completely factored
form of x 4 −9 .

Exercise 9 Work as many examples as you can from pages 5 and 6 of the Algebra and
Trigonometry Supplement.

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Rational Functions
The next major class of functions we will review are rational functions.

Rational Functions A function f is a rational function if it has the form:

px
f  x = ,
q  x

Rational functions are in many ways more complicated than polynomials. For one example, the
domain of any polynomial is −∞ , ∞ , but there can be points at which a rational function is not
defined. If the polynomial in the denominator q has a root as the point x=c , then f is not defined at
x=c . This is because plugging x=c into f  x  will result in diving by zero. We will spend some
time in this class attempting to determine how a rational function behaves near a point where it is not
defined.

One of the most important things you will need to do with rational functions is to simplify them.

Simplifying Rational Functions To simplify a rational function of the form

p  x /q  x , where p and q are polynomials, we will completely factor the numerator
and the denominator, and then reduce the rational function by canceling any terms that
appear in both the numerator and the denominator.

Exercise 10 Simplify the following rational functions.

2
a) f  x = x x−12 b) g  x= x 2−4
x 2−8 x15 x 3−5 x 2 −14x
2
c) h  x = x  x d) k  x= x 23x1
x 4−x 2 x 3−6 x 211 x−6

There is an important comment that needs to be made here. Consider the two functions
f  x =[ x−1 x1]/ x−1 and g  x= x1 . Are these two functions equal? Not exactly. It is
true that if we simplify the expression which defines f , we will get the expression for g . However,
notice what happens when we plug x=1 into each function: g 1=2 , but f 1=0/0 , which is
undefined! Since g 1≠ f 1 , these cannot be the same function. Although, it is true that
g  x= f  x for every value of x except x=1 . This is a subtle, but very important point. When we
simplify rational functions in this way, we will usually end up changing the function very slightly.
These changes will occur at the roots of any terms that we cancel out of the numerator and
denominator.
2
x 4 x4
Exercise 11 Verify that the function f  x = 3 2
is not defined at x=−2 . Then find
x 5 x 8 x4
a rational function g  x which is equal to f  x  at every point but x=−2 , and is defined at
x=−2 .

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If we have two rational functions f  x  and g  x , then it turns out that the functions f  x g  x ,
f  x −g  x , f  x  g  x  , and f  x / g  x  are all also rational functions. To see this, we often have
to perform some simplification which might involve finding a common denominator.

Exercise 12 Write the following rational functions in the form p  x / q  x , where p and q are
polynomials. Continue to simplify until the rational function is completely simplified.

1 1
−
−5 1 x 2
a) f  x =  b) g  x= x −2
x 3 x−4 x−1
2

Exercise 13 Work as many examples as you can from page 7 of the Algebra and Trigonometry
Supplement.

Compositions
It will be very important that you know how to compose functions.

Composing Functions Given two function f  x  and g  x , the composition " f

composed with g " is a third function which is formed by taking every instance of x in
the definition of f  x  and replacing them with g  x . This composition is denoted by
either  f ° g  x  or f  g  x . That is,  f ° g  x = f  g  x .

We could also form the function " g composed with f ":  g ° f  x =g  f  x

Exercise 14 For each of the following pairs of functions, find both  f ° g  x  and  g ° f  x  .

f  x =x4 , g  x= x 2−x1 1

a) b) f  x = , g  x= x 24
x

x2
c) f  x =sin  x , g  x= x 2 d) f  x =2 x 2 1 , g  x=
x 2− x

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Piecewise Functions
Most of the functions you tend to see in calculus courses will be defined by a single formula. Every
function that has appeared in the notes so far is an example of this. However, on occasion, it is useful
to work with piecewise functions.

Piecewise Functions A piecewise function is a function that is defined by different

formulas on various sets of real numbers.

Exercise 15 Sketch the graph of each of the following piecewise functions.

{
x 1 if x≤1
2
x if{
a) f  x = −x if x0
x≥0
b) g  x= x 2 if
4 if
1 x2
x≥2

{
 x12−2 if x−1
{
c) h  x = 1/ x if
2 if
x≠0
x≥0
d)
k  x= x 3−1 if −1≤x≤1
 x −1 if x1

Absolute Values
The piecewise functions we will deal with the most often are absolute value functions.

Absolute Value The absolute value function ∣x∣ is a piecewise function defined in the
following way: ∣x∣= −x if x0
x if x≥0 {
This defines the absolute value of the variable x . More generally, we can define the absolute value of
a given function.

Absolute Value of a Function Given a function f  x  , the function ∣ f  x ∣ is defined

{
as follows: ∣ f  x ∣= − f  x  if f  x 0
f  x  if f  x ≥0

The effect of the absolute value signs are as follows: if the stuff inside of the absolute value is positive,
do nothing; if the stuff inside of the absolute value is negative, negate it so that it becomes positive.

Exercise 16 Work the following problems.

2 2
a) Assuming x1 , simplify x −1 b) Assuming that x1 , simplify x −1
∣x−1∣ ∣x−1∣
∣x2∣−2 ∣x2∣−2
c) Assuming x−2 , simplify d) Assuming x−2 , simplify
x x

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Exponents
In the course, you will frequently need to work with expression that include exponents. You may see a
variable raised to some power (i.e. x 4 ), or perhaps a longer expression raised to some power (i.e.
−1 / 2
2x1 ). You will need to be very familiar with the rules for working with exponents so that you
can simplify such expressions. Below is a list of these rules.

Rules For Exponents In the following rules, a and b could be replaced with any
mathematical expression, and n and m represent rational numbers.

• a n a m=a nm • a n m=a nm

an 1 −n
• m
=a n−m • n
=a
a a
• 0
a =1 • a 1 /n= n a
n n
•  a
b
a
= n
b
• a bn=a n b n

Exercise 17 Work as many examples as you can from page 2 of the Algebra and Trigonometry
Supplement.

Radicals
Since roots can be represented by powers, all of the above rules can be used to simplify radical
expressions. For instance, the following rules hold true:
 a b=  a  b a a
=
b b 
Here are a couple of examples of how these rules are used to simplify expressions involving roots:
•  27= 93= 9  3=3  3 •  4x 216= 4  x 24= 4  x 24=2  x 22
3
•

3 8
=3
8 = 2
125  125 5
•
 x x
=
4 2

Exercise 18 Work as many examples as you can from page 3 and 4 of the Algebra and
Trigonometry Supplement. For the problems on page 4, you will need to multiply either the
numerator or the denominator of the expression by its conjugate.

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Inequalities
You will occasionally in this class be given an inequality which includes a variable, and will be asked
to solve for the variable. There are a few rules that you should keep in mind when working with
inequalities:

Rules For Inequalities

1. You may always multiply both sides of an inequality by a positive constant.

1
For example: x≤4 implies that x≤8
2
2. When multiplying both sides by a negative constant, you must flip the inequality.
1
For example: − x≤4 implies that x≥−8
2
3. If you have an inequality like  x−12x−30 , then one of the factors on the
left side is negative, and one is positive. So, you have two scenarios:
• x−10 and 2x−30 or
• x−10 and 2x−30 .
4. If you have an inequality like  x−12x−30 , then the factors on the left are
either both positive or both negative. So, you have two scenarios:
• x−10 and 2x−30 or
• x−10 and 2x−30 .

Exercise 19 Work as many examples as you can from page 10 of the Algebra and Trigonometry
Supplement.

Equations of Lines
You will be need to able to find the equation of a line given either of the following sets of information:
• The slope of the line, and one point that it passes through.
• Two points on the line.

Equations of Lines

1. The equation of the line with slope m that passes through the point a , b is
given by:  y−b=m x−a  , or y=bm x−a 
Note: In this formula, b is NOT meant to be the y-intercept.
2. If you are given two points a , b and c , d  on the line, then the slope is
given by m= y / x = d −b/ c−a . Once you have the slope, you can use
the equations in (1).

Exercise 20 Work as many examples as you can from page 11 of the Algebra and Trigonometry
Supplement.

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