Chapter One

Algebra

ALGEBRA
Chapter Objectives

After you finish this chapter you should be able to : divide a polynomial, of degree not exceeding 4, by a linear or quadratic polynomial, and identify the quotient and remainder (which may be zero); use the factor theorem and the remainder theorem, e.g. to find factors, solve polynomial equations or evaluate unknown coefficients ; understand the meaning of x , and use relations such as a = b a2 = b2 and x a < b a b < x < a + b in the course of solving equations and inequalities; recall an appropriate form for expressing rational functions in partial fractions, and carry out the decomposition, in cases where the denominator is no more complicated than (ax + b)(cx + d)(ex + f ) , (ax + b)(cx + d)2 , (ax + b)( x2 + c2) , and where the degree of the numerator does not exceed that of the denominator; 1 use the expansion of (1+ x)n , where n is a rational number and
x

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1. POLYNOMIALS 1.1 Introduction

A function of the form
P ( x ) = an x n + an 1 x n 1 + .......... .... + a0

( an 0 )

where n is a positive integer, is called a polynomial of degree n. The real numbers an , an 1 ,..., a0 are called coefficients of
x ,x
n n 1

,.........

.. e tc

For instance P ( x ) = 3x5 + 2 x 1 is a polynomial of degree 5. the coefficient of x 5 is 3, the coefficient of x is 2 and the coefficient of x 3 is zero and the constant term is 1. Some polynomials have special names: Degree of polynomial 1 2 3 4 Special name Linear Quadratic Cubic Quartic
ax + b
ax 2 + bx + c ax 3 + bx 2 + cx + d ax 4 + bx 3 + cx 2 + dx + e

General form

For any two polynomials P(x) and Q (x) P(x) Q(x) if and only if for each power of x, the coefficient in P(x) is the same as that in Q(x). Example 1: Find the values of a and b if 1 + 3 x + 5 x 2 + 3 x3 = (1 + x ) (1 + ax + bx 2 )

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Polynomials can be added, subtracted or multiplied to obtain new polynomials. Generally, the division of two polynomials does not result in a new polynomial. Notice that a polynomial is defined for all values of x. The equation P(x) = 0 will have up to n real root. In particular of P(x) is cubic, then P(x) = 0 will have up to 3 real roots. The diagrams show the various possibilities for the number of roots.

1.2

Division of Polynomials
Can be carried out using a layout like the one for long division of integers.

Example 2:

dividen d

diviso r 1. write the problem using standard longdivision form 2. divide 6x3 by 2x 4. subtract from polynomial 5. divide 8x2 by 2x 7. subtracting 2x 8. divide 2x by 10. subtracting

Divide 1 + 6 x +11 x 2 + 6 x 3 by (1 + 2 x ) quotient

3x 2 + 4 x + 1

2 x +1

6 x +11 x + 6 x +1
3 2

3. multiply 3x2(2x+1) 6. multiply 4x(2x+1) 9. multiply 1(2x+1) remaind er

6 x 3 + 3x 2 8x 2 + 4 x

8 x 2 + 6 x +1

2 x +1 2 x +1 0

Notice that there is no remainder meaning that 2x + 1 is a factor! We can write

6 x 3 +11 x 2 + 6 x +1 3 x 2 + 4 x +1 2 x +1

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Example 3: Find the quotient and remainder of dividing 2 x3 + 3x 2 5 x2 + 2

Example 4: Find the quotient and remainder when 3 x 4 + 6 x 3 + 2 x + 6 is divided by (x1)

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A review of the previous examples yields

6 x 3 +11 x 2 + 6 x +1 0 3 x 3 + 4 x +1 + 2 x +1 2 x +1

( 4 x 11) 2 x3 + 3x 2 5 2x + 3 + 2 x +2 x2 + 2
3x 4 + 6 x3 + 2 x + 6 17 3 x 3 + 9 x 2 + 9 x + 11 + x 1 x 1

Note: 1. when a polynomial f(x) is divided by a (non constant) polynomial g(x) the quotient q(x) and the remainder r(x) are defined by the identity: f(x) q(x)g(x) + r(x) 2. the degree of the remainder will always be less than the degree of the divisor. 3. the degree of the quotient is the difference between the degree of dividend f(x) and the degree of the divisor g(x).

1.3

The Remainder Theorem:

when dividing polynomials

f ( x) r( x) q( x ) + , g( x) g ( x)
g( x) 0

Or

f ( x ) q( x ) g ( x ) + r ( x )

since the degree of the remainder will be lower than the degree of the divisor, then when the divisor is linear the remainder will be constant
f ( x) R = q( x ) + xa xa

Or

f ( x ) q( x ) ( x a ) + R

Substitute for x = a f (a) = R

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The remainder theorem:

When a polynomial f (x) is divided by (x a ) the remainder is f (a) or more generally when f (x) is divided by ax + b the remainder is f Note: The choice of x =
b a
b a

is to ensure that the quotient is eliminated.

Example 5: Find the remainder when 2 x 3 + 6 x 8 is divided by a) (x 1) b) (x + 1) c) (2x+1)

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1.4

The Factor Theorem:

The factor theorem states that, for a given polynomial f(x), if f(a) = 0, then (xa) is a factor of f(x). Conversely, if (x a) is a factor of f (x) then f (a) = 0 Note: Generally if
b f a =0

then (ax + b) is a factor of f(x).

Example 6: Factorise f ( x ) = x 3 7 x 6

Example 7: Find the value of a for which (x 2) is a factor of 3 x 3 + ax 2 + x 2 . Show that for this value of a, the cubic equation 3x3 + ax 2 + x 2 = 0 has only one real root.

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Example 8: The diagram shows the curve

y = x 3 + 2 x 2 + ax 10

the curve crosses the x-axis at x = p, x = 2 and x = q a) show that a = 5 b) find the exact values of p and q

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