Name ___________________________________________________________ Hour _______

Birthday Polynomial Project

Due Date: __________________________________

OBJECTIVE: Create a polynomial function using your date of birth.

• Use the month, date, and last two digits of the year of your birth (in order) as factors of
a polynomial function. For example, if you were born on October 5, 1980, you would use
the digits 1, 0, 0, 5, 8, 0 and you could write your polynomial in factored form as
𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 & (𝑥 − 1)(𝑥 + 2)(𝑥 + 3)(𝑥 − 8).
• Your birthday polynomial must have a degree of either 4, 5, or 6.
• Change the signs of the coefficients to make the most interesting polynomial you can.
• Create a table of values using the table feature on a graphing calculator.
• Create a graph of your birthday polynomial
• Analyze your birthday polynomial by identifying the following features on your graph:
o Standard form of your polynomial
o Degree of your polynomial
o Zeros/x-intercepts
o End behavior (using proper notation)
o Y-intercept
o Inflection points
o Intervals for which the polynomial is concave up and concave down
o Relative/local maximums and minimums
o Absolute/global maximum and minimum
o Increasing and decreasing intervals
o Domain and range
NOTE: The grade that you get on this project will count as a test grade.
 Birthday Polynomial Project Rubric
0 1 2 3
Factored form of Polynomial is not Polynomial is
Factored Form polynomial is not incorrectly written in correctly written in
given factored form factored form
Standard form of Standard form of
Standard form of
Standard Form polynomial is not polynomial is
polynomial is correct
given incorrect
Table of values is Table of values is
No table of values is
Table of Values given
given, but some given; all values are
values are incorrect correct
Graph is given, but
Graph and Graph is given, but some key features Graph is given; all
Identification of No graph is given key features are not are not labeled or key features are
Key Features labeled are improperly properly labeled
labeled
The degree of the
The degree of the polynomial is
The degree of the The degree of the
polynomial is correctly identified
Degree polynomial is not
identified, but
polynomial is
and labeled in the
identified correctly identified
incorrect standard form of the
polynomial
Zeros identified, but
Zeros/x- Zeros are not All zeros are
some or all are
intercepts identified
incorrect
correctly identified
End behaviors are Both end behaviors Both end behaviors
End behaviors are identified, but are correctly are correctly
End Behaviors not identified one/both is/are identified, but identified with
incorrect notation is incorrect correct notation
Relative/Local All relative max/mins
No relative Some, but not all All relative max/mins
correctly identified,
Maximums and max/mins relative max/mins
but notation is
correctly identified,
Minimums identified correctly identified with correct notation
incorrect
Absolute/Global Absolute max/min
Absolute max/min
No absolute Absolute max/min correctly identified,
Maximum and max/min identified incorrectly identified but notation is
correctly identified,
Minimum with correct notation
incorrect
Y-intercept correctly Y-intercept correctly
Y-intercept not Y-intercept identified, but identified, with
Y-intercept identified incorrectly identified notation is incorrect correct notation

Some, but not all

All inflection points All inflection points
inflection points are
Inflection points are are correctly are correctly
Inflection Points not identified
correctly identified,
identified, but identified, with
or some are
notation is incorrect correct notation
incorrect
Some, but not all All concave up/down
All concave up/down
Concave up/down concave up/down intervals are
Concave Up and intervals are
intervals not intervals identified, correctly identified,
Down Intervals correctly identified
identified or some are but notation is
with correct notation
incorrect incorrect
Increasing and Some, but not all All increasing and All increasing and
Decreasing Increasing and increasing and decreasing intervals decreasing intervals
Intervals decreasing intervals decreasing intervals are correctly are correctly
not identified identified, or some identified, but identified with
are incorrect notation is incorrect correct notation
 Either domain or Both are correct, but Both are correct and
Domain and range
Domain/Range are not given
range is correct, but correct notation is correct notation is
not both not used used