Polynomials (Junior)

AMOC School of Excellence, December 2021

Dr Gareth Ainsworth
gareth.ainsworth@amt.edu.au
www.unbounded-above.com

Introduction

You should think of a polynomial as an algebraic expression you can obtain by starting with “numbers”
and “variables” and performing addition, subtraction and multiplication. For instance, the following are
examples of polynomials.

7x3 yz − y 2 + 31 x4 + 4x3 + 6x2 + 4x + 1 r1 + r2 + · · · + rn

However, we will mainly talk about polynomials with only one variable, and we will usually call that vari-
able x. Furthermore, observe that the “numbers” could come from any set in which addition, subtraction
and multiplication are defined. You could do very interesting things like take the “numbers” from the
set Z7 of integers modulo 7. However, we will only consider the case where our “numbers” come from
the set Z of integers, the set Q of rational numbers, the set R of real numbers, and the set C of complex
numbers.

So in general, the polynomials we are considering take the form

p(x) = an xn + an−1 xn−1 + · · · + a1 x + a0 .

Here, the numbers an , an−1 , . . . , a1 , a0 are called coefficients. If an 6= 0, then we say that n is the
degree of the polynomial.

You can add, subtract and multiply polynomials in the obvious way. You can also plug numbers into
polynomials. The result of plugging the number a into the polynomial p(x) is written p(a), which is just
the usual function notation. If we find that p(r) = 0 for some number r, then we say that r is a root of
the polynomial p(x).

Results

Theorem. Let p(x) and q(x) be polynomials. Then

deg p(x) q(x) = deg p(x) + deg q(x)

deg p(q(x)) = deg p(x) × deg q(x).
 
deg p(x) + q(x) ≤ max{deg p(x), deg q(x)}.

Theorem (Lagrange interpolation). Given n + 1 points in the plane: (x0 , y0 ), . . . , (xn , yn ) (where
the x-values are distinct), there exists a unique polynomial p(x) of degree n that satisfies p(xi ) = yi for
0 ≤ i ≤ n. This polynomial is given by the following formula
n
X Y (x − xj )
p(x) = yi .
i=0
(xi − xj )
j6=i

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Theorem (Division algorithm). For any two polynomials a(x) and b(x) 6= 0, there is a unique way
to write
a(x) = q(x)b(x) + r(x),

where deg r(x) < deg b(x).

Theorem (Remainder theorem). The remainder after dividing a polynomial p(x) by x − a is the
number p(a).

Theorem (Factor theorem). The polynomial p(x) is divisible by x − a if and only if a is a root of
p(x).

Theorem (Fundamental theorem of algebra). A polynomial of degree n > 0 with real (or complex)
coefficients always has a complex number root. Consequently, such a polynomial can be completely
factorised and expressed as
A(x − r1 )(x − r2 ) · · · (x − rn ),

where A, r1 , r2 , . . . , rn are complex numbers.

Theorem (Identity theorem). If two polynomials of degree at most n satisfy p(x) = q(x) for n + 1
values of x, then the polynomials p(x) and q(x) are equal.

Theorem (Vieta’s formulas). If the polynomial an xn +an−1 xn−1 +· · ·+a1 x+a0 has roots r1 , r2 , . . . , rn ,
then the following formulas hold.
an−1
= −(r1 + r2 + · · · + rn )
an
an−2
= r1 r2 + r1 r3 + · · · + rn−1 rn
an
..
.
a0
= (−1)n r1 r2 · · · rn
an

Theorem (Fundamental theorem of symmetric polynomials). A polynomial in the variables

r1 , r2 , . . . , rn is called symmetric if it remains the same when you swap ri with rj for any i and j. Every
symmetric polynomial in the variables r1 , r2 , . . . , rn can be expressed in terms of

e1 = r1 + r2 + · · · + rn
e2 = r1 r2 + r1 r3 + · · · + rn−1 rn
..
.
en = r1 r2 · · · rn .

Theorem (Rational root theorem). Let an xn + an−1 xn−1 + · · · + a1 x + a0 be a polynomial with

integer coefficients. If it has a rational root rs (where gcd(r, s) = 1), then r | a0 and s | an .

Theorem (Intermediate value theorem). Suppose f (x) is a continuous real-valued function defined
on the interval [a, b]. Then f assumes every value between f (a) and f (b).

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Problems

1. Suppose p(x) is a polynomial with integer coefficients. Prove that for all integers a and b,

a − b | p(a) − p(b).

2. Suppose p(x) is a polynomial with integral coefficients. Prove that if p(a) = p(b) = p(c) = 2 for
three distinct integers a, b, c, then p(x) 6= 3 for any x ∈ Z.

3. Suppose a polynomial takes integer values at every integer. Does it necessarily have integer coeffi-
cients? Prove this is so, or give a counterexample otherwise.

4. Find a polynomial p(x) of minimal degree that satisfies p(1) = 2, p(2) = 3, p(3) = 5 and p(4) = 7.

5. Find all real polynomials p(x) that satisfy p(0) = 0 and p(x2 + 1) = p(x)2 + 1 for all real x.

6. Show that if p(x) is a real polynomial of odd degree, then it has at least one real root.

7. Let n be a positive integer. Consider the polynomial

n−1
p(x) = (1 + x)(2 + x2 )(3 + x4 ) · · · (n + x2 ).

Express the product of the non-zero coefficients of p(x) in terms of n.

8. Suppose p(x) is a polynomial with integer coefficients. Show that if p(a) = 1 for some a ∈ Z, then
p(x) has at most two integer roots.

9. Let r, s, t be the roots of the polynomial x3 − 6x2 + 8x − 2. Determine the value of r2 + s2 + t2 .

10. Let p(x) be a cubic polynomial with roots r, s, t. Suppose that

p( 21 ) + p(− 12 )
= 1000.
p(0)

1 1 1
Find the value of rs + st + tr .

11. Let p(x) be an integer polynomial such that p(2) is divisible by 5 and p(5) is divisible by 2. Prove
that p(7) is divisible by 10.

12. Suppose p(x) is a polynomial with integer coefficients. Prove that if p(p(· · · p(x) · · · )) = x for some
integer x (where p is composed n times), then p(p(x)) = x.

13. Find all polynomials f with real coefficients such that

(x − 27)f (3x) = 27(x − 1)f (x)

for every real number x.

14. Solve the following system of simultaneous equations.

x+y+z =4
x + y 2 + z 2 = 16
2

x3 + y 3 + z 3 = 40

15. Let p(x) be an integer polynomial such that p(2018) = p(2019) = 2019. Show that p has no integer
roots.

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16. Let p(x) be an integer polynomial whose leading coefficient is odd. Suppose that p(0) and p(1) are
also odd. Prove that p(x) has no rational roots.

17. The coefficients of a polynomial function p(x) are all non-negative integers. Given that p(2) = 40
and p(40) = 2688008, what is the value of p(3)?

18. Suppose p(x) is real polynomial satisfying p(x) ≥ 0 for all x ∈ R. Show that there exist real
polynomials A(x) and B(x) such that p(x) = (A(x))2 + (B(x))2 .

19. Determine the number of distinct real solutions of the equation

(x − 1)(x − 3)(x − 5) · · · (x − 2015) = (x − 2)(x − 4)(x − 6) · · · (x − 2014).