UNIVERSITY OF RUHUNA

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (GENERAL) DEGREE LEVEL I
MAT 121β: Algebra

Tutorial No : 05 Semester II, 2023

Submit answer sheet for questions (2),(4),(5),(7) and (10) on or before
31/08/2023
13 09

1. (a) Define the following terms of a polynomial.

i) degree
ii) leading coefficient
iii) leading term
(b) Identify the degree, leading coefficient and the leading term of each of the following
polynomials.
i) 3x2 − 3x4 − 5 + 2x + 2x2 − x
ii) 20
iii) 2xy 3 + x5 y 3 z + 4x2 yz 2
iv) −2x6 y 2 + 64x7 + 3xy 4 + xy 2 − z + 53
v) 15x3 − 4x7 − 2x3 y − 12x4 y 4 + xyz

2. State the remainder theorem.

(a) Use the remainder theorem to find the remainder of each p(x) when it is divided by
q(x).
i) p(x) = −4x2 + 6x3 + 8x2 + 2x − 1 and q(x) = x + 2
ii) p(x) = 2x4 − 10x2 + 30x − 60 and q(x) = x + 4
(b) If x3 + 8x2 + mx − 5 is divided by x + 1 the remainder in n, express m in terms of n.
(c) Given that f (x) = 2x3 + 3x2 + kx + 5 divided by (2x − 3) gives a remainder of 9 21 , use
the remainder theorem to determine the value of k.
(d) P (x) be a nonzero polynomial over R and c be any real number. Prove c is a root of
P (x) if and only if (x − c) is a factor of P (x).

3. (a) Write down the factor theorem.

(b) Two cubic polynomials are defined by f (x) = x3 + (a − 3)x + 2b and g(x) = 3x3 +
x2 + 5ax + 4b, where a and b are constants.
i) Given that f (x) and g(x) have a common factor of (x − 2), find the values of a
and b.
ii) Using the values of a and b, factorize f (x) fully. Hence show that f (x) and g(x)
have two common factors.
(c) Identify the factor of polynomial f (y) = y 4 − 9y 3 + 28y 2 − 36y + 18
4. State the rational root test.

(a) Let p(x) = x5 + x3 + 2x2 − 12x + 8. Find all roots of p(x).

(b) Find all the real solutions of −10x3 + 15x2 + 16x − 12 = 0
(c) Find all the rational zeros of
i) f (x) = x4 − x3 + x2 − 3x − 6
ii) f (x) = 2x3 + 3x2 − 8x + 3

5. (a) Let p(x) = 2x3 − 9x2 + 12x − 4 and let α, β and γ be the roots of p(x).
i) Write down the Vieta’s formulas.
ii) If α = β, find all the roots of p(x).
(b) If α be a real root of the equation x3 + px2 + qx + r = 0 where p, q and r are real,
then show that the other roots are real if p2 − 4q − 2pα − 3α2 ≥ 0.
(c) If the product of two roots of the equation x4 + px3 + qx2 + rx + s = 0 equals the
product of the other two. Show that r2 = p2 s.
(d) If the sum of two roots of the equation x4 + px3 + qx2 + rx + s = 0 equals the sum of
other two.. Show that p3 + 8r = 4pq

6. (a) Let α1 , α2 , ..., αn be the roots of the following polynomial equation.

f (x) = an xn + an−1 xn−1 + ... + a1 x + a0 = 0

Also, let Pr = ni=1 αir for n ∈ Z+ .Find the 4th degree polynomial p(x) = x4 + a3 x3 +
P
a2 x2 + a1 x + 17, which has p1 = −6, p2 = 32 and p3 = −102.

Show that −4 + i is a root of p(x). Find P4 and deduce that (−4 + i)4 + (4 + i)4 = 322.
(b) Find the sum of fifth powers of the roots of the equation x4 − 2x3 + 4x2 + 6x − 21 = 0.
(c) If α,β and γ are the roots of equation x3 + px + q = 0, express α4 + β 4 + γ 4 in terms
of p and q.

7. Let α1 , α2 , ..., αn be the roots of the following polynomial equation.

f (x) = xn + a1 xn−1 + ... + an−1 x + an = 0

Pn r
Let Sr = i=1 αi for r = 1, 2, ... and S0 = n. Also,

Sr + a1 Sr−1 + ... + rar = 0, if 1 ≤ r < n and

Sr + a1 Sr−1 + ... + an Sr−n = 0, if r ≥ n

(a) Find the 4th degree polynomial q(x) = x2 + a1 x3 + a2 x2 + a3 x + 4 which has S1 =

6, S2 = 16, and S3 = 63.
(b) Show that x = 1 is a root of polynomial q(x) and q(x) = (x − 1)p(x), where p(x) =
x2 − ax2 + ax − 4.
√ √
(c) Find S4 and deduce that (1 + i 3)4 + (1 − i 3)4 = −16.

****************************************