Outline

Definition and Examples

Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Polynomials

March 29, 2021

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Outline

1 Definition and Examples

2 Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials

3 Division of Polynomials

4 Factor and Remainder Theorems

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Definition and Examples of Polynomials

An expression of the form

p(x) = an x n + an−1 x n−1 + an−2 x n−2 + · · · + a1 x + a0

where an 6= 0, n is a positive integer and a0 , a1 , ..., an are

constants, is called a polynomial of degree n.
Each of a0 , a1 x, a2 x 2 , ..., an x n is called a term of the polynomial.
a0 , a1 , a2 , ..., an are called the coefficients of the polynomial: an is
the leading coefficient and a0 is the constant term.

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Definition and Examples of Polynomials

Some examples of polynomials are as follows
1. p(x) = a0 , a constant. This is called a constant polynomial or
a polynomial of degree zero. e.g. p(x) = 5.
2. p(x) = a1 x + a0 . This is called a linear polynomial or a
polynomial of degree 1. e.g. p(x) = 2x + 3.
3. p(x) = a2 x 2 + a1 x + a0 . This is called a quadratic polynomial
or a polynomial of degree 2. E.g p(x) = 5x 2 − 2x + 3.
4. p(x) = a3 x 3 + a2 x 2 + a1 x + a0 . This is called a cubic
polynomial or a polynomial of degree 4. E.g
p(x) = 5 − 2x + x 3
and so on. √ 1
Note: The expressions x 2 − 3 and x + x 3 − 6 are not
polynomials (why?).
Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Addition and Subtraction of Polynomials

To add or subtract polynomials, we add or subtract the

corresponding terms of the polynomials.
Example 1
Let p(x) = 2x 3 − x 2 − 5x + 3 and
q(x) = 3x 4 − 5x 3 + 2x 2 − x + 6. Find
(i). p(x) + q(x)
(ii). p(x) − q(x)
(iii). p(x) + 2q(x).

Polynomials
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Solution
p(x) = 2x 3 − x 2 − 5x + 3, q(x) = 3x 4 − 5x 3 + 2x 2 − x + 6.
(i). p(x) + q(x) = 2x 3 − x 2 − 5x + 3 + 3x 4 − 5x 3 + 2x 2 − x + 6 =
3x 4 +2x 3 −5x 3 −x 2 +2x 2 −5x −x +3+6 = 3x 4 −3x 3 +x 2 −6x +9
(ii). p(x) − q(x) = 2x 3 − x 2 − 5x + 3 − (3x 4 − 5x 3 + 2x 2 − x + 6) =
2x 3 − x 2 − 5x + 3 − 3x 4 + 5x 3 − 2x 2 + x − 6 =
−3x 4 + 7x 3 − 3x 2 − 4x − 3.
(iii). p(x)+2q(x) = 2x 3 −x 2 −5x +3+2(3x 4 −5x 3 +2x 2 −x +6) =
2x 3 − x 2 − 5x + 3 + 6x 4 − 10x 3 + 4x 2 − 2x + 12 =
6x 4 − 8x 3 + 3x 2 − 7x + 15.

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Product of Polynomials

Polynomials are multiplied through the usual method of expansion

of brackets.
Example 2
Find the product of the polynomials p(x) = 2x 2 + x + 3 and
q(x) = x 3 − 4x 2 + 1.
Solution

p(x) · q(x) = (2x 2 + x + 3)(x 3 − 4x 2 + 1)

= 2x 2 (x 3 − 4x 2 + 1) + x(x 3 − 4x 2 + 1) + 3(x 3 − 4x 2 + 1)
= 2x 5 − 8x 4 + 2x 2 + x 4 − 4x 3 + x + 3x 3 − 12x 2 + 3
= 2x 5 − 7x 4 − x 3 − 10x 2 + x + 3

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Division of Polynomials

A polynomial p(x) can be divided by a polynomial, a(x) of lesser

degree to obtain the quotient q(x) and the remainder r (x). In this
case, we have
p(x) = a(x)q(x) + r (x) (1)
Equation (1) is similar to what obtains during the division of
integers. For example
7 1
=2
3 3
.Therefore
7 = (3 × 2) + 1.

Polynomials
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Division of Polynomials

We shall illustrate division of polynomials using a method similar

to the method of long division of numbers, using the following
examples.
Example 3
Find the quotient and remainder when
1. 5x 3 − 3x + 7 is divided by x − 4.
2. 6x 4 + x 3 + 13x + 10 is divided by 2x 2 − x + 4
3. x 4 − x 3 + 7x + 2 is divided by x 2 + x − 1

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Solution 1

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Solution 2

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Solution 3

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Remainder Theorem

When the divisor is a linear polynomial, we can determine the

remainder without going through the process of polynomial long
division by simply applying the remainder theorem.
Theorem (Remainder Theorem)
If a polynomial p(x) is divided by ax + b, the remainder is the
constant p(− ba ).

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Proof.
If p(x) is divided by ax + b, then by equation (1), p(x) can be
written as
p(x) = (ax + b)q(x) + r (2)
where q(x) is the quotient and r is the remainder.
Putting x = −ba in equation(2), we obtain

b b
p(− ) = (a(− ) + b)q(x) + r = (−b + b)q(x) + r = r
a a
Hence,
b
r = p(− )
a

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Example 4

1. Find the remainder when the polynomial x 3 + 3x 2 − 2x + 1 is

divided by 2x − 1
2. Find the remainder when the polynomial
x 4 − x 3 + 2x 2 − 7x − 2 is divided by x − 2
3. When x 3 + ax 2 + bx + 5 is divided by x − 2 the remainder is
23. When divided by x + 1the remainder is 11. Find the
values of a and b.
solution:
1. Let p(x) = x 3 + 3x 2 − 2x + 1. Therefore, the remainder is

1 1 1 1 1 3 7
p( ) = ( )3 + 3( )2 − 2( ) + 1 = + − 1 + 1 = .
2 2 2 2 8 4 8

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Solution
2. Let p(x) = x 4 − x 3 + 2x 2 − 7x − 2. Then the remainder is

p(2) = 24 − 23 + 2(2)2 − 7(2) − 2 = 16 − 8 + 8 − 14 − 2 = 0.

3. When p(x) = x 3 + ax 2 + bx + 5 is divided by x − 2, the

remainder is

p(2) = 23 + a(22 ) + 2b + 5 = 23

.This implies
2a + b = 5 (i)
Also, when divided by x + 1, the remainder is

p(−1) = (−1)3 + a(−1)2 − b + 5 = 11.

Polynomials
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Solution

This implies
a−b =7 (ii)
Adding equations (i) and (ii), we have

3a = 12
a=4

Substituting a = 4 in equation (ii), we have

4−b =7
b = −3

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

The Factor Theorem

The factor theorem is a special case of the remainder theorem.

Theorem
Let p(x) be a polynomial. Then
1. if ax + b is a factor of p(x), then p(− ba ) = 0;
2. if p(− ba ) = 0, then ax + b is a factor of p(x)

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Example 5

1. Show that x − 1 is a factor of 6x 3 + 11x 2 − 5x − 12.

2. Hence, factorize 6x 3 + 11x 2 − 5x − 12 completely.
Solution:
1. Let p(x) = 6x 3 + 11x 2 − 5x − 12. Then

p(1) = 6(1)3 + 11(1) − 5(1) − 12 = 0

Hence, by the factor theorem, x − 1 is a factor of

6x 3 + 11x 2 − 5x − 12
2. see the solution on the next page.

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Example 6

Find the zeros of the polynomial p(x) = x 3 + 4x 2 + x − 6.

Note:
A real number α is called a zero of a polynomial p(x) if p(α) = 0.
Hence, to obtain the zeros of a polynomial p(x), we solve the
polynomial equation p(x) = 0.

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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
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Solution

First, we factorize p(x) = x 3 + 4x 2 + x − 6 using the factor

theorem. Observe that
p(−2) = (−2)3 + 4(−2)2 − 2 − 6 = −8 + 16 − 2 − 6 = 0.
Therefore x + 2 is a factor of p(x). Next, we divide p(x) by
x + 2(see the next slide). Hence, p(x) = 0 implies

(x + 2)(x − 1)(x + 3) = 0

. Therefore, the zeros of p(x) are x = −3, −2, and 1.

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Example 7
Factorize the polynomial
p(x) = 2x 4 − 3x 3 − 12x 2 + 7x + 6
completely and hence solve the equation p(x) = 0
Solution:
First observe that any factor of p(x) is of the form ax + b, where a
is a factor of the leading coefficient,2, and b is a factor of the
constant term, 6. That is
a = ±1, ±2
b = ±1, ±2, ±3, ±6
Also note that,
i. the factor ax + b is not really a different factor from -ax-b.
And so we shall only consider the positive values of a.
Polynomials
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Solution
ii. The factors cannot be 2x ± 2 or 2x ± 4, otherwise, 3 would be
a common factor of the coefficients of p(x), which it is not.
Therefore, we are left with the following possibilities:

x ± 1, x ± 2, x ± 3, x ± 6, 2x ± 1, 2x ± 6
We will test these by evaluating at
1 3
x = ∓1, x = ∓2, x = ∓3, x = ∓6, x = ∓ , x = ∓ .
2 2
4 3 2
p(1) = 2(1) − 3(1) − 12(1) + 7(1) + 6 = 2 − 3 − 12 + 7 + 6 = 0
Therefore, x − 1 is a factor of p(x).

p(−2) = 2(−2)4 −3(−2)3 −12(−2)2 +7(−2)+6 = 32+24−48−14+6 = 0

Hence, x + 2 is factor of p(x).
Polynomials
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Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Next, we multiply the two factors to have

(x − 1)(x + 2) = x 2 + x − 2

Next, we divide p(x) by x 2 + x − 2(see the next slide) to obtain

p(x) = (x 2 + x − 2)(2x 2 − 5x − 3)
= (x − 1)(x + 2)[2x 2 − 6x + x − 3]
= (x − 1)(x + 2)[2x(x − 3) + 1(x − 3)]
= (x − 1)(x + 2)(2x + 1)(x − 3)

p(x) = 0 implies

(x − 1)(x + 2)(2x + 1)(x − 3) = 0

And so
x = 1 or 3 or −2, or − 21 .
Polynomials
 Outline
Definition and Examples
Addition, subtraction and product of Polynomials
Division of Polynomials
Factor and Remainder Theorems

Polynomials