Mr Harish Chandra Rajpoot

M.M.M. University of Technology, Gorakhpur-273010 (UP), India

16/11/2014

General form of the cubic equation:

We know that a cubic equation has either one or three real roots.
Here, we are interested to study the cubic equations having
for ease of understanding. We usually take
because can be made positive in any cubic equation by multiplying it either by
or by
& the
( ) is simply obtained by reflecting the curve of
( ) about the x-axis.
curve of

Nature of at least one real root: We can easily determine the nature of at least one real root simply by
observing the sign of constant

in any cubic equation

The nature of at least one real root of any cubic equation is always opposite to the sign of constant .
1.

2.

3.

Proof: Nature of Cubic Curve ( )

The nature (shape) of the cubic curve is the proof of the above statements. In order to find the nature of cubic
curve, lets find out the conditions for maxima & minima as follows
( )

( )

( )

( )

Now, for local maxima or minima,

)( )

Now, lets check out the local maxima & minima for above values

Case 1: If

of variable

(
as follows

i.e. the points of local maxima & minima will always be real & distinct.

( )

Hence, in this case, the cubic curve ( ) has local maxima at

( )

Hence, in this case, the cubic curve ( ) has local minima at

The graph of cubic curve ( )
will always be of Wavy Nature i.e. cubic curve has both
local maxima & minima successively at two distinct points
. As shown in the figure 1 below
In this case, the cubic equation ( )
has
either one or three real roots. But at least one
real root of equation has sign opposite to the
sign of constant .

Figure 1: Cubic curve successively has one local maxima at lower value of x
& one local minima at higher value of x i.e. it has wavy nature

Case 2: If

i.e. the points of local maxima & minima will be equal (same) as follows

)
(

Neither maxima nor minima

Hence, in this case, the cubic curve ( ) has neither local maxima nor local minima. It is called as strict
nature of cubic curve (as shown in the figure 2 below). In this case, the cubic equation ( )
has only one
real distinct root &
a.
b.

Curve either crosses the x-axis (only one real root with sign opposite to that of constant d) or
It is tangent to the x-axis (i.e. the cubic equation has three equal real roots or one distinct real root).

Case 3: If

& minima as shown in the figure 2 below.

i.e. the cubic curve has no point of local maxima

Figure 2: Cubic curve has no local maxima or minima. It has one distinct real root either by crossing the x-axis or being
tangent to the x-axis (i.e. three equal real roots). This nature of curve is called strict

Similar to the case 2, the cubic curve ( ) has neither local maxima nor local minima. It is called as strict
nature of the cubic curve (as shown in the figure 2 above). In this case, the cubic equation ( )
has only
one real distinct root &
a.
b.

Curve either crosses the x-axis (only one real root with sign opposite to that of constant d) or
It is tangent to the x-axis (i.e. the cubic equation has three equal real roots).

It is clear from above cases that for any position of the origin ( )& for any values of coefficient, the nature
of at least one real root must always be opposite to sign of the constant in the cubic equation.

Conclusion: From above three cases, it can be concluded that a cubic may have
1.
2.

Either Strict Nature (I.e. cubic curve has no local maxima or minima) or
Wavy Nature (i.e. cubic curve has both local maxima & minima)

The nature of any cubic curve is of two types which is determined by using the determinant (D)

Case 1:

In this case, the cubic equation ( )

has either one or three real roots. But at least one real root
has sign opposite to the sign of constant . See the figure 1 above. Any cubic equation cant have
single maxima or single minima i.e. if a cubic has local maxima then it definitely has local minima at
some distinct point & vice-versa is true. Thus, local maxima & local minima are always present as a
pair in a cubic equation & single maxima/minima cant exist in any cubic equation.

Case 2:

In this case, the cubic equation ( )

a.
b.

has only one distinct real root &

Curve either crosses the x-axis (only one real root with sign opposite to that of constant d) or
It is tangent to the x-axis (i.e. cubic equation has three equal real roots). See the figure 2 above

In any cubic equation

minima.

, the local maxima is always followed by the local

The cubic equation

is easily studied by multiplying it by
to get
(
)
then using the above deductions for determining the nature of one real root & the curve
( ) about the x-axis.
is obtained by reflecting the curve of

Types of cubic equation on the basis of values of coefficients

types of the cubic equation

: There are
as tabulated below

Nature of at least one real

root of cubic equation
( )
( )
( )
( )
(opposite to the sign of )
1
Positive
2
Zero
3
Negative
4
Positive
5
Zero
6
Negative
7
Positive
8
Zero
9
Negative
10
Positive
11
Zero
12
Negative
13
Positive
14
Zero
15
Negative
16
Positive
17
Zero
18
Negative
19
Positive
20
Zero
21
Negative
22
Positive
23
Zero
24
Negative
25
Positive
26
Zero
27
Negative
Similarly, we can obtain other 27 types of cubic equations for
but these are the transformed forms (i.e.
reflections about the x-axis) of above 27 types of the cubic equation. So we are not considering those.
S/No.

Note: Above articles had been concluded & illustrated by Mr H.C. Rajpoot (B Tech, Mechanical Engineering)
M.M.M. University of Technology, Gorakhpur-273010 (UP) India
Email: rajpootharishchandra@gmail.com
Authors Home Page: https://notionpress.com/author/HarishChandraRajpoot

Nov, 2014