An algebraic expression of the form , where (i) (ii) are real numbers (iii) power of x is a non negative integer, is called a polynomial.
Where , are coefficients of respectively and are terms of the polynomial. Here the term is called the leading term and its coefficient is the leading coefficient. For e.g.: is a polynomial in variable . and -4 are known as terms of polynomial and and 2 are their respective coefficients.
Generally we divide the polynomials in three categories.
Generally, a polynomial in more than one variable is called a multivariate polynomial. A second major way of classifying polynomials is by their degree.
Usually, a polynomial of degree , for greater than 3 , is called a polynomial of degree , although the phrases quartic polynomial and quantic polynomial are sometimes used for degree 4 and 5 respectively. Polynomials classified by number of non-zero terms
If a polynomial has only one variable, then the terms are usually written either from highest degree to lowest degree ("descending powers") or from lowest degree to highest degree ("ascending powers").
If is a polynomial in variable and is any real number, then the value obtained by replacing by a in is called value of at and is denoted by . For example : Find the value of at Zero of a polynomial : A real number is a zero of the polynomial if . For example: Consider Thus, 1,2 and 3 are called the zeros of polynomial .
Geometrically the zeros of a polynomials are the x -co-ordinates of the points where the graph intersects -axis. To understand it, we will see the geometrical representations of linear and quadratic polynomials. Geometrical representation of the zero of a linear polynomial
The graph of intersects the -axis at only one point . Therefore, we conclude that the linear polynomial has one and only one zero. Geometrical representation of the zero of a quadratic polynomial
Consider the following cases:
Case-I : Here, the graph cuts x -axis at two distinct points A and A'. (see figure)
The -coordinates of and are two zeros of the quadratic polynomial
Case-II : Here, the graph touches the x -axis at exactly one point (see fig). So, the two points A and A' of Case-I coincide here to become one point A. The x -coordinate of A is the only zero for the quadratic polynomial in this case.
Case-III : Here, the graph is either completely above the x -axis or completely below the x -axis (see fig.). So, it does not cut the x -axis at any point. So, the quadratic polynomial has no zero in this case.
So, you can see geometrically that a quadratic polynomial can have either two distinct zeros or one zero, or no zero. This also means that a polynomial of degree 2 has at most two zeros.
Building Concepts 1 The graphical representation of is shown in the given figure. Does it have (i) any solution (ii) zero(s)
Building Concepts 2 Look at the graphs given below. Each is the graph of , where is a polynomial. For each of the graphs, find the number of zeros of .
For a linear polynomial , we have, zero of a linear polynomial For a quadratic polynomial , with and as it's zeros, and are the factors of .
Therefore, , (where is a constant to balance the equation of the coefficient of i.e. .) comparing the coefficients of and constant terms on both the sides, we get and
This gives Sum of zeros Product of zeros If and are the zeros of a quadratic polynomial . Then polynomial is given by or sum of the zeros product of the zeros
The cubic polynomial whose zeros are and is given by
Numerical Ability 1 Find the zeros of the quadratic polynomial and verify the relation between the zeros and its coefficients. Solution: We have, For a cubic polynomial with and as its zeros, we have Thus, the zeros of are and Now,sum of the zeros and Sum of the zeros Product of the zeros and, Product of the zeros
Numerical Ability 2 Find the zeros of the quadratic polynomial and verify the relationship between the zeros and its coefficients. Solution: So, the value of is zero when or , i.e. or Therefore, and are the zeros of . Now, sum of zeros Product of zeros
Numerical Ability 3 Find a quadratic polynomial whose zeros are 5 and -2 respectively. Solution: Let the quadratic polynomial be , and it's zeros be and we have, We know that a quadratic polynomial when the sum and product of its zeros is given by sum of zeros product of zeros] where is a constant so,
Numerical Ability 4 Find a quadratic polynomial each with the given numbers as the sum and product of its zeros respectively: (i) (ii) We know that a quadratic polynomial when the sum and product of its zeros are given by (Sum of the zeros) Product of the zeros , where is a constant. (i) Required quadratic polynomial is given by (ii) Required quadratic polynomial is given by
If is a polynomial and is a non-zero polynomial, then there exist two polynomials and such that , where or degree degree . In other words,
Dividend = Divisor \times Quotient + Remainder
Remark : If , then polynomial is a factor of polynomial .
Building Concepts 3 Check whether the polynomial is a factor of the polynomial , by dividing the second polynomial by the first polynomial. Explanation: We have
Building Concepts 4 Find all the zeros of , if you know that two of its zeros are and . Explanation: Let be the given polynomial. Since two zeros are and so, and are both factors of the given polynomial . Also, is a factor of the polynomial . Now, we divide the given polynomial by .
Numerical Ability 5 Divide the polynomial by the polynomial and verify the division algorithm. Solution: We have
Let be the zeros of a quadratic polynomial, then the expression of the form ; are called the symmetric functions of the zeros. By symmetric function we mean that the function remains invariant (unaltered) in values when the roots are changed cyclically. In other words, an expression involving and which remains unchanged by interchanging and is called a symmetric function of and .
Some useful relations involving and are :- (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v)
Numerical Ability 6 If and are the zeros of the quadratic polynomial then calculate (i) (ii) Solution Since and are the zeros of the quadratic polynomial (i) We have, (ii) We have,
Numerical Ability 7 If and are the zeros of the quadratic polynomial , find the value of Solution: Since and are the zeros of the polynomial . and We have
Numerical Ability 8 If and are the roots (zeros) of the polynomial such that , find the value of . Solution: Since and are the roots (zeros) of the polynomial . Hence, the value of k is 2 .
Numerical Ability 9 If are the zeros of the polynomial satisfying the relation , then find the value of for this to be possible. Solution Since and are the zeros of the polynomial . and Now, and
(Session 2025 - 26)