Sections 3.1: Graphs of Polynomials Polynomial Functions a Function F Is

Sections 3.1: Graphs of polynomials

Polynomial functions A function f is called a polynomial function if

n n−1 2 f(x) = anx + an−1x + ... + a2x + a1x + a0, an 6= 0, where n ≥ 0 is a nonnegative integer and an, an−1, . . . , a1, a0 are real numbers. The constants an, an−1, . . . , a1, a0 are called the coeﬃcients of the polynomial. n The term anx is called the leading term of the polynomial. The real number an is called the leading coeﬃcient of the polynomial. The real number a0 is called the constant term of the polynomial. The integer n is called the degree of the polynomial. If f(x) = 0, we say that f has no degree. A polynomial function with degree zero is called a constant function. A polynomial function with degree one is called a linear function. A polynomial function with degree two is called a quadratic function. A polynomial function with degree three is called a cubic function. The domain of a polynomial function is (−∞, ∞).

Example 1 Find the degree, the leading term, the leading coeﬃcient and the constant term of the following polynomial functions. 1 f(x) = 4 − x + 3x2 g(t) = −4.9t2 + πt − e h(t) = 4(t − 2)2(t + ) p(x) = −2x3(x + 1)(x + 2)2 2

End behavior of functions f(x) = axn, n even Suppose f(x) = axn, where a 6= 0 is a real number and n is an even number. The end behavior of the graph of y = f(x) matches one of the following: 1. For a > 0, as x → −∞, f(x) → ∞ and as x → ∞, f(x) → ∞ 2. For a < 0, as x → −∞, f(x) → −∞ and as x → ∞, f(x) → −∞ End behavior of functions f(x) = axn, n odd Suppose f(x) = axn, where a 6= 0 is a real number and n is an odd number. The end behavior of the graph of y = f(x) matches one of the following: 1. For a > 0, as x → −∞, f(x) → −∞ and as x → ∞, f(x) → ∞ 2. For a < 0, as x → −∞, f(x) → ∞ and as x → ∞, f(x) → −∞ End behavior of polynomial functions n n−1 2 The end behavior of a polynomial function f(x) = anx + an−1x + ... + a2x + a1x + a0, with an 6= 0 n matches the end behavior of y = anx .

1 Example 2 Find the end behavior of the following polynomials 1 f(x) = 4 − x + 3x2 g(t) = −4.9t2 + πt − e h(t) = 4(t − 2)2(t + ) p(x) = −2x3(x + 1)(x + 2)2 2

The intermediate value theorem Suppose f is a continuous function on an interval containing x = a and x = b with a < b. If f(a) and f(b) have diﬀerent signs, then f has at least one zero between x = a and x = b, i.e., for at least one real number c such that a ≤ c ≤ b, we have f(c) = 0.

Suppose f is a polynomial function and m is a natural number. If (x − c)m is a factor of f(x) but (x − c)m+1 is not, then we say x = c is a zero of multiplicity m.

The role of multiplicity Suppose f is a polynomial function and x = c is a zero of multiplicity m. 1. If m is even, the graph of y = f(x) touches and rebounds from the x-axis at (c, 0). 3. If m is odd, the graph of y = f(x) crosses through the x-axis at (c, 0).

Example 3 Find the real zeros of the given polynomials and their corresponding multiplicities. Use this information along with a sign chart to provide a rough sketch of the graph of the polynomials. f(x) = −2(x − 2)2(x + 1) g(x) = x3(x + 2)2 h(t) = (3 − t)(t2 + 1)

Example 4 Given the pair of functions f and g, sketch the graph of y = g(x) by starting with the graph of y = f(x) and using transformations. f(x) = x4, g(x) = 2 − 3(x − 1)4 f(x) = x5, g(x) = −x5 − 3