Chapter 2 - Number Systems 1

The algebra of polynomials

2.1 - The integers

The set of integers, Z is a set equipped with two operations, addition + and multiplication ⋅ . There are also two
special integers, zero and one. These satisfy a long list of identities which we call axioms. These hold for all
a, b, c ∈ Z .

(a + b) + c = a + (b + c) associativity of addition
a+0 = a additive identity
′
(∀a)(∃a ) a + a
′
= 0 additive inverse
a+b = b+a commutativity of addition
(a ⋅ b) ⋅ c = a ⋅ (b ⋅ c) associativity of multiplication
a⋅1 = a multiplicative identity
a⋅b = b⋅a commutativity of multiplication
a ⋅ (b + c) = a ⋅ b + a ⋅ c distributivity

You don't need to know all these for 101MP, but knowing their names can be useful when writing mathematics.
Note that these same axioms hold for real numbers and for polynomials. But the integers are the simplest set of
numbers satisfying these axioms.

2.2 - Sequences and series

A sequence is a list, perhaps infinite, of elements of the same type. For example,

0,  1,  4,  9,  16,  25,   …

is a sequence of integers, while

1,  0.1,  0.01,  0.001,  0.0001,   …

is a sequence of real numbers. We sometimes write sequences in the form (an )n , where an represents the n th
n
term in the sequence. For example the sequences above are represented by (n2 )n∈Z and (0.1 )n∈Z .

An (infinite) series is thought of as an infinite sum

∞

∑ ai

i=0

of a sequence (ai )i∈Z . But this sum does not necessarily exist. We often convert a series into a sequence by
adding the first n terms together. Define
n

Sn = ∑ an

i=0

which does exist. This gives a sequence S0 ,  S1 ,  S2 ,   …

2.3 - Polynomials and power series
A polynomial is a finite sequence,

a0 ,  a1 ,  a2 ,   … ,  ak

which we think of as a sum,

k i k
f (t) = Σ ai t = a0 + a1 t + … + ak t ,
i=1

of powers of an unknown element t . These can then be added and multiplied in the familiar way.

A power series is an infinite sequence, but again thought of as an infinite sum

∞
i 2
p(t) = ∑ ai t = a0 + a1 t + a2 t +…

i=0

i i i
If p(t) = ∑ ai t and q(t) = ∑ bi t are two power series then they can be added, ∑(ai + bi )t and
multiplied to get

i
i
p(t) ⋅ q(t) = ∑(∑ aj bj−i )t

i j=0

One can take the multiplicative inverse of a power series

∞
i
1 + ∑ ai t ,

i=1

see lectures for details. This allows us to divide power series.

2.4 - Rational polynomials/functions

A rational polynomial is a pair (f , g) of polynomials, thought of as the quotient f /g . Two pairs (f1 , g1 ) ,
(f 2 , g2 ) are the same if f 1 g2 = f 2 g1 . These can be added using the rule

f1 f2 f 1 g2 + f 2 g1
+ = .
g1 g2 g1 g2

Multiplication is simpler, f1 /g1 ⋅ f 2 /g2 = (f 1 f 2 )/(g1 g2 ) .

Rational polynomials can also be thought of as functions, when they're called rational functions. For f /g the
associated function has domain {x ∈ R ∣ g(x) ≠ 0}, which ensures than when evaluating the function we
don't have division by zero. For example the function plotted below,

2.5

1.5

0.5

-0.5

-1

-1.5
-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6
is defined by the rational function

x(x − 1)

(x + 1)(x − 2)

and has domain R ∖ {−1,  2} .

2.5 - Divisibility and long division of polynomials

The degree of a polynomial is its largest power. Given two polynomials f (x) and g(x) we can try to divide f (x)
by g(x) using long division. Although this is not always possible, we can always find polynomials q(x) and r(x)
such that

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

and such that the degree of r(x) is less than the degree of q(x) . The polynomial q(x) is called the quotient
while the polynomial r(x) is called the remainder.

A polynomial f (x) is divisible by a polynomial g(x) if there exists some polynomial h(x) such that
f (x) = h(x)g(x) . i.e. if dividing f (x) by g(x) gives no remainder. A polynomial p(x) is irreducible if it is

not constant (degree 0) and if whenever p(x) = h(x)g(x) , then either h(x) or g(x) is a constant polynomial.

For example any linear polynomial ax + b is irreducible. A quadratic polynomial ax2 + bx + c is irreducible if
it has no linear factors, i.e. no real roots, i.e. when the discriminant b2 − 4ac is negative.

2.6 - The fundamental theorem of algebra (real version)

When we say "real version", this means over the real numbers. There's a version over the complex numbers, the
"complex version", which is simpler.

Theorem
Every polynomial f (x) factors into a product of a constant, linear polynomials x − αi and quadratic
polynomials x2 + bx + c with negative discriminant.

In particular all irreducible polynomials are either linear or quadratic with negative discriminant.

2.7 - Partial fractions

Decomposition into partial fractions allows any rational polynomial f (x)/g(x) to be written as a sum of two
kinds of terms

k
(x − α)

for some constants A, α ∈ R and k > 0 , and

Bx + C

2 k
(x + bx + c)

for constants B, C , b, c ∈ R and k > 0 . We'll discuss how to find these in the lectures.