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By now, you should be familiar with variables and exponents, and you may have dealt with expressions like 3x or 6x. Polynomials are sums of these "variables and exponents" expressions. Each piece of the polynomial, each part that is being added, is called a "term". Polynomial terms have variables which are raised to whole-number exponents (or else the terms are just plain numbers); there are no square roots of variables, no fractional powers, and no variables in the denominator of any fractions. Here are some examples:
4
6x 2
1
This is NOT a polynomial term... This is NOT a polynomial term... This is NOT a polynomial term... This IS a polynomial term...
...because the variable has a negative exponent. ...because the variable is in the denominator. ...because the variable is inside a radical. ...because it obeys all the rules.
/x2
sqrt(x) 4x2
Here is a typical polynomial:
Notice the exponents on the terms. The first term has an exponent of 2; the second term has an "understood" exponent of 1; and the last term doesn't have any variable at all. Polynomials are usually written this way, with the terms written in "decreasing" order; that is, with the largest exponent first, the next highest next, and so forth, until you get down to the plain old number. Any term that doesn't have a variable in it is called a "constant" term because, no matter what value you may put in for the variable x, that constant term will never change. In the picture above, no matter what x might be, 7 will always be just 7. The first term in the polynomial, when it is written in decreasing order, is also the term with the biggest exponent, and is called the "leading term". The exponent on a term tells you the "degree" of the term. For instance, the leading term in the above polynomial is a "second-degree term" or "a term of degree two". The second term is a "first degree" term. The degree of the leading term tells you the degree of the whole polynomial; the polynomial above is a "second-degree polynomial". Here are a couple more examples:
This polynomial has four terms, including a fifth-degree term, a third-degree term, a first-degree term, and a constant term.
7x4 + 6x2 + x
This polynomial has three terms, including a fourth-degree term, a second-degree term, and a first-degree term. There is no constant term. This is a fourth-degree polynomial.
When a term contains both a number and a variable part, the number part is called the "coefficient". The coefficient on the leading term is called the "leading" coefficient.
In the above example, the coefficient of the leading term is 4; the coefficient of the second term is 3; the constant term doesn't have a coefficient.
Copyright Elizabeth Stapel 2000-2011 All Rights Reserved
The "poly" in "polynomial" means "many". I suppose, technically, the term " polynomial" should only refer to sums of many terms, but the term is used to refer to anything from one term to the sum of a zillion terms. However, the shorter polynomials do have their own names: a one-term polynomial, such as 2x or 4x , may also be called a "monomial" ("mono" meaning "one") 2 a two-term polynomial, such as 2x + y or x 4, may also be called a "binomial" ("bi" meaning "two") 4 2 a three-term polynomial, such as 2x + y + z or x + 4x 4, may also be called a "trinomial" ("tri" meaning "three")
2
I don't know if there are names for polynomials with a greater numbers of terms; I've never heard of any names other than what I've listed.
Polynomials are also sometimes named for their degree: a second-degree polynomial, such as 4x , x 9, or ax + bx + c, is also called a "quadratic" 3 3 a third-degree polynomial, such as 6x or x 27, is also called a "cubic" 4 4 2 a fourth-degree polynomial, such as x or 2x 3x + 9, is sometimes called a "quartic" 5 5 3 a fifth-degree polynomial, such as 2x or x 4x x + 7, is sometimes called a "quintic"
2 2 2
There are names for some of the higher degrees, but I've never heard of any names being used other than the ones I've listed. By the way, yes, "quad" generally refers to "four", as when an ATV is referred to as a "quad bike". For polynomials, however, the "quad" from "quadratic" is derived from the Latin for "making square". As in, if you multiply length by width (of, say, a room) to find the area in "square" units, the units will be raised to the second power. The area of a room that is 6 meters by 8 2 meters is 48 m . So the "quad" refers to the four corners of a square, from the geometrical origins of parabolas and early polynomials.
Rational Expressions
A rational expression, also known as a rational function, is any expression or function which includes a polynomial in its numerator and denominator. In other words, a rational expression is one which contains fractions of polynomials. For example:
The last equation also has a polynomial in the denominator, keeping in mind that
thus
becomes
The important thing to remember is that the denominator must never equal to zero, otherwise you'll end up dividing by zero. When asked to find the domain of a rational function, though solving may result in many variables, you must always pick only those which will result in the polynomial in the denominator not equal to zero.
What the question is asking for are the values of x for which the rational function is said to exist or make mathematical sense. In other words, find the values of x for which the denominator is not equal to zero. So the first step is equating the denominator to zero i.e.
and then we say that the domain is: all values of x except for x = 3
Notice on the graph of the function, we have an asymptote at x = 3 which means that this value is not in the domain. If it is not in the domain, then a range value (y-value) cannot exist. Example: Find the domain of the expression below
As before, start with equating the denominator to zero and then find factor the resulting equation to find its roots
These are the values for which the denominator is equal to zero, thus we say that the domain of the expression is given by: all values of x except
Although we have expressions in both the denominator and denominator, the expression in the numerator does not affect the domain of the entire rational expression, so we only consider the denominator
Therefore,
which means that x = {1,3,4} And thus the domain of the rational expression is: all values of x except for x = {1,3,4}
then you can see that x is a common factor in both the numerator and denominator, so the above is the same as:
However, it is important to remember you should never simplify the rational expression before finding the domain. In case you still feel like simplifying before finding the domain, then you must keep track of the factors which you 'cancel' out. For the example above, to find the domain from the simplified expression
from which
However, x = 2/3 is not the only factor for which the denominator of 3x/(2x - 3x2) is equal to zero. Since we divided through by a factor to get the simplified expression, we must set that factor to zero as well and solve for x. In this case since we divided through by x, we say
and then we give the domain as: all values of x except for x = {0,2/3}
Example: Simplify the rational expression and the also state the domain
Periodic Function
In mathematics, a periodic function is a function that repeats its values in regular intervals or periods. The most important examples are the trigonometric functions, which repeat over intervals of length 2. Periodic functions are used throughout science to describe oscillations, waves, and other phenomena that exhibitperiodicity. Any function which is not periodic is called aperiodic. Definition A function f is said to be periodic if for all values of x. The least positive constant P with this property is called the period. A function with period P will repeat on intervals of length P, and these intervals are sometimes also referred to as periods. Geometrically, a periodic function can be defined as a function whose graph exhibitstranslational symmetry. Specifically, a function f is periodic with period P if the graph of f is invariant under translation in the x-direction by a distance of P. This definition of periodic can be extended to other geometric shapes and patterns, such as periodic tessellations of the plane. A function that is not periodic is called aperiodic.
Even Functions
A function is "even" when:
Odd Functions
A function is "odd" when:
Even or Odd?
Example: is f(x) = x/(x2-1) Even or Odd or neither?
Let's see what happens when we substitute -x: Put in "-x": Simplify:
So
Special Properties
Adding:
The sum of two even functions is even The sum of two odd functions is odd The sum of an even and odd function is neither even nor odd (unless one function is zero).
Multiplying:
The product of two even functions is an even function. The product of two odd functions is an even function. The product of an even function and an odd function is an odd function.
Remember that a function is a set of ordered pairs in which no two ordered pairs that have the same first component have different second components. This means that given any x, there is only one y that can be paired with that x.
Onto Function
A function f from A to B is called onto if for all b in B there is an a in Asuch that f (a) = b. All elements in B are used.
Such functions are referred to as surjective.
"Onto"
(all elements in B are used)
NOT "Onto"
(the 8 and 1 in Set B are not used)
By definition, to determine if a function is ONTO, you need to know information about both set A and B. When working in the coordinate plane, the sets A and B may both become the Real numbers,
stated as .
This function (a straight line) isONTO. As you progress along the line, every possible y-value is used. In addition, this straight line also possesses the property that each x-value has one uniquey-value that is not used by any other xelement. This characteristic is referred to as being one-to-one.
NOT ONTO.
Values less than -2 on the y-axis are never used. Since possible y-values belong to the set of ALL Real numbers, not ALL possibley-values are used. In addition, this parabola also has y-values that are paired with more than one x-value, such as (3, 7) and (-3, 7). This function will not be one-to-one.
EXAMPLE 3: Is g (x) = x - 2 onto where ? If set B is redefined to be , ALL of the possible y-values are now used, and function g (x) (under these conditions) is ONTO.
One-to-One Function
A function f from A to B is called one-to-one (or 1-1) if whenever f (a) = f (b) then a = b. No element of B is the image of more than
one element in A.
In a one-to-one function, given any y there is only one x that can be paired with the given y. Such functions are referred to as injective.
"One-to-One"
NOT "One-to-One"
This function is One-to-One. This cubic function possesses the property that each x-value has one unique y-value that is not used by any other x-element. This characteristic is referred to as being 1-1. Also, in this function, as you progress along the graph, every possible y-value is used, making the function onto.
This function is
NOT One-to-One.
This absolute value function has y-values that are paired with more than one x-value, such as (4, 2) and (0, 2). This function is not one-to-one. In addition, values less than 0 on the y-axis are never used, making the function NOT onto.
EXAMPLE 3: Is g (x) = | x - 2 | one-to-one where ? With set B redefined to be , function g (x) will still be NOT one-to-one, but it will
now be ONTO.
BOTH
"Both"
Examples of functions that are BOTH onto and one-to-one can be seen in each of the categories above.
Inverse Functions
An inverse function goes in the opposite direction! Let us start with an example: Here we have the function f(x) = 2x+3, written as a flow diagram:
The
2x+3
is:
(y-3)/2
The inverse is usually shown by putting a little "-1" after the function name, like this:
f-1(y)
We say "f inverse of y" So, the inverse of
f turns the apple into a banana, -1 Then the inverse function f turns the banana back to the apple
If the function
Example:
Using the formulas from above, we can start with We can then use the inverse on the 11: And we magically get 4 back again! We can write that in one line:
f and then its inverse f-1 gives us the original value back again: f-1( f(x) ) = x
We could also have put the functions in the other order and it still works:
f( f-1(x) ) = x
Example:
Start with: And then:
f( f-1(11) ) = 11
f inverse of 11 equals 11"
f-1(y) = (y-3)/2
Fahrenheit to Celsius
A useful example is converting between Fahrenheit and Celsius: To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius: f(F) = (F - 32) x 5/9 The Inverse Function (Celsius back to Fahrenheit) is: f-1(C) = (C 9/5) + 32
For You: see if you can do the steps to create that inverse!
Inverses
Careful!
<=>
<=>
<=>
<=>
x and y 0 n not zero (different rules when n is odd, even, negative or positive) y>0 y and a > 0 -/2 to +/2 0 to
<=>
or
-/2 to +/2
(Note: you can read more about Inverse Sine, Cosine and Tangent.)
CONSTANT FUNCTION
A constant function is used in math to refer to a function whose value does not vary and thus making it a constant value. The function's value does not change even for the variables values as well as the parameters change.