Nature of Roots of A Polynomial
Nature of Roots of A Polynomial
Nature of Roots of A Polynomial
Polynomial function ∗
A real polynomial, simply referred as polynomial in our study, is an algebraic expression having terms
of x raised to non-negative numbers, separated by + or - sign. A polynomial in one variable is called
a univariate polynomial, a polynomial in more than one variable is called a multivariate polynomial. A real
polynomial function in one variable is an algebraic expression having terms of real variable x raised to
non-negative numbers. The general form of representation is :
f (x) = ao + a1 x + a2 x2 + . . . · · · + an xn
or
ax2 + bx + c; a, b, c ∈ R; a 6= 0
Note that a can not be zero because degree of function/ expression reduces to 1. Extending this
requirement for maintaining order of polynomial, we dene polynomial of order n as :
1 Polynomial equation
The polynomial equation is formed by equating polynomial to zero.
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f (x) = ax2 + bx + c = 0
The roots of a polynomial equation are the values of x for which value of polynomial f(x) becomes zero.
If f(a) = 0, then "x=a" is the root of the polynomial. A polynomial equation of degree n has at the most
n roots real or imaginary. Important point to underline here is that a real polynomial can have imaginary
roots.
Solution of polynomial equation is intersection(s) of two equations :
y = ao xn + a1 xn−1 + a2 xn−2 + . . . · · · + an = 0
and
y=0 (x-axis)
The solutions of equations (real or complex) are the roots of the polynomial equation. If we plot y=f(x)
.vs. y=0 plot, then real roots are x-coordinates (x-intercepts) where plot intersect x-axis. Clearly, graph of
polynomial can at most intersect x-axis at n points, where n is the degree of polynomial. On the other
hand, y-intercept of a polynomial is obtained by putting x=0,
y = a0 X0 + a1 X0 + a2 X0 + . . . · · · + an = an
Figure 1: Graph of polynomial can at most intersect x-axis at n points, where n is the degree of
polynomial.
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Some useful deductions about roots of a polynomial equation and their nature are :
1 : A polynomial equation of order n can have n roots real or imaginary.
2 : Imaginary roots occur in pairs like 1+3i and 1-3i
√ √
3 : Roots having square root term occur in pairs 1+ 3 and 1- 3.
4 : If a polynomial equation involves only even powers of x and all terms are positive, then all roots of
polynomial equation are imaginary (complex). For example, roots of the quadratic equation given here are
complex.
x4 + 2x2 + 4 = 0
Descartes rules of signs
Descartes rules are :
(i) Maximum number of positive real roots of a polynomial equation f(x) is equal to number of sign
changes in f(x).
(ii) Maximum number of negative real roots of a polynomial equation f(x) is equal to number of sign
changes in f(-x).
The signs of the terms of polynomial equation f (x) = x3 + 3x2 − 12x + 3 = 0 are + + - +. There are
two sign changes as we move from left to right. Hence, this cubic polynomial can have at most 2 positive
real roots. Further, corresponding f (−x) = −x3 + 3x2 + 12x + 3 = 0 has signs of term given as - + + +.
There is one sign change involved here. It means that polynomial equation can have at most one negative
root.
2 Polynomials
2.1 Zero polynomial
y = f (x) = 0
The polynomial 0, which has no term at all, is called zero polynomial. The graph of zero polynomial is
x-axis itself. Clearly, domain is real number set R, whereas range is a singleton set {0}.
It is a polynomial of degree 0. The value of constant function is constant irrespective of values of "x". The
image of the constant function (y) is constant for all values of pre-images (x).
y = f (x) = c
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Constant function
The graph of a constant function is a straight line parallel to x-axis. As y = (f(x) = c holds for real
values of x, the domain of constant function is "R". On the other hand, the value of y is a single valued
constant, hence range of constant function is singleton set {c}.We can treat constant function also as a linear
function of the form f(x) = c with m=0. Its graph is a straight line like that of linear function.
There is an interesting aspect about periodicity of constant function. A polynomial function is not peri-
odic in general. A periodic function repeats function values after regular intervals. It is dened as a fuction for
which f(x+T) = f(x), where T is the period of the function. In the case of constant function, function value is
constant whatever be the value of independent variable. It means that f (x + a1 ) = f (x + a2 ) = ..........f (x) = c
. Clearly, it meets the requirement with the dierence that there is no denite or xed period like "T". The
relation of periodicity, however, holds for any change to x. We, therefore, summarize (it is also the accepted
position) that constant function is a periodic function with no period.
f (x) = a0 x + a1
It is also expressed as :
f (x) = mx + c
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Linear function
The graph of a linear function is a straight line. The coecient of x i.e. m is slope of the line and c is
y-intercept, which is obtained for x = 0 such that f(0) = c. It is clear from the graph that its domain and
range both are real number set R.
The dependent (y) and independent (x) variables have same value. Identity function is similar in concept to
that of identity relation which consists of relation of an element of a set with itself. It is a linear function in
which m=1 and c=0. Identity function form is represented as :
y = f (x) = x
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Identity function
The graph of identity function is a straight line bisecting rst and third quadrants of coordinate system.
◦
Note that slope of straight line is 45 . It is clear from the graph that its domain and range both are real
number set R.
f (x) = ax2 + bx + c; a, b, c ∈ R; a 6= 0
We shall discuss quadratic function in detail in a separate module and hence discussion of this function
is not taken up here.
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and f(b) lie on the opposite sides of x-axis. Since graph is continuous, it is bound to cross x-axis at least
once or odd times. As such, there are at least 1 or odd numbers of real roots (as shown in the left gure
down).
2 : If there are two values of polynomial f(a) and f(b) such that f(a)f(b) > 0, then there are either no
real roots or there are even numbers of real roots between a and b. The condition f(a)f(b) > 0 means that
function values f(a) and f(b) are either both negative or both positive i.e. they lie on the same side of x -
axis. Since graph is continuous, it may not cross at all or may cross x-axis even times (as shown in the right
gure above). Clearly, there is either no real root or there are even numbers of real roots.
We shall study graphs of quadratic polynomials in a separate module. Further, other graphs will be
discussed in appropriate context, while discussing a particular function. Here, we present two monomial
quadratic graphs y = x2 and y = x3 . These graphs are important from the point of view of generalizing
graphs of these particular polynomial structure. The nature of graphs y = xn , where n is even integer
2
greater than equal to 2, is similar to the graph of y=x . We should emphasize that the shape of curve
simply generalizes the nature of graph we need to draw them actually, if we want to draw graph of a
particular monomial function. However, we shall nd that these generalizations about nature of curve lets
us know a great deal about the monomial polynomial. In particular, we can conclude that their domain and
range are real number set R.
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Figure 6: The nature of graphs of degree of positive even integer are similar to the graph shown.
Similarly, the nature of graphs y = xn , where n is odd number integer greater than 2, is similar to the
3
graph of y=x .
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Figure 7: The nature of graphs of degree of positive odd integer are similar to the graph of shown.
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