UNIVERSITY OF CAGAYAN VALLEY

(Formerly Cagayan Colleges Tuguegarao)

Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines
SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS AND TEACHER EDUCATION
POLYNOMIAL FUNCTION
A polynomial is an expression of one variable in the form anxn + an-1xn-1 + ... + a2x2 + a1x + a0,
where a0, a1,…, an are real numbers with an≠ 0 and n is a positive integer. Many real-life
situations are easily modeled by polynomial functions. Some of the most familiar are quadratic
functions, which are functions of the form f (x) = ax2 + bx + c. Other polynomial functions are
also commonly seen in mathematical models. In the following sections we'll study the general
form of polynomials, what a polynomial function looks like, and how to find the roots of a given
polynomial function. The roots of a polynomial function are the values of x for which the
function equals zero. In a related topic, we'll take a look at rational functions, which are
functions that can be written as a quotient of two polynomials. After an in-depth look at
polynomial functions, they will be easy to deal with in calculus.
Polynomial functions have special names depending on their degree. A polynomial function of
degree zero has only a constant term -- no x term. If the constant is zero, that is, if the
polynomial f (x) = 0, it is called the zero polynomial. If the constant is not zero, then f (x) = a0,
and the polynomial function is called a constant function. If the polynomial function has degree
one, then it is of the form f (x) = ax + b, and is called a linear function. If the polynomial is of
degree two, then it is of the form f (x) = ax2 + bx + c, and is called a quadratic function. In the
next section, we'll learn more about quadratic functions.

A polynomial is a mathematical expression constructed with constants and variables using the
four operations:

Polynomial Example Degree

Constant 1 0
Linear 2x+1 1
Quadratic 3x2+2x+1 2
Cubic 4x3+3x2+2x+1 3
Quartic 5x4+4x3+3x2+2 x+1 4

Problem 1: Identify the degree, leading coefficient, and constant term of the following
polynomial: -3x4 +5x2 - x - 4.
Answer:Degree: 4. Leading coefficient: -3. Constant term: -4.

Problem2: Identify the degree, leading coefficient, and constant term of the following
polynomial: 5x6 +2x5 -2x4 +7x3 - x2 - x + 23.
Answer: Degree: 6. Leading coefficient: 5. Constant term: 23.

Problem 3: List the coefficients of xn, xn-1, xn-2,..., x2, x in that order for the following
polynomial of degree n: 16x8 +3x7 - x4 + x3 - 5x.
Answer: 16, 3, 0, 0, - 1, 1, 0, - 5.

Zeros and Turning Points of Polynomials

A polynomial of degree n has at most n real zeros and at most n−1 turning points.

Long Division of Polynomials

When attempting to find the roots of a polynomial, it will be useful to be able to divide that
polynomial by other polynomials. Here we'll learn how.
 UNIVERSITY OF CAGAYAN VALLEY
(Formerly Cagayan Colleges Tuguegarao)
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines
SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS AND TEACHER EDUCATION
Long division of polynomials is a lot like long division of real numbers. If the polynomials
involved were written in fraction form, the numerator would be the dividend, and the
denominator would be the divisor. To divide polynomials using long division, first divide the
first term of the dividend by the first term of the divisor. This is the first term of the quotient.
Multiply the new term by the divisor, and subtract this product from the dividend. This
difference is the new dividend. Repeat these steps, using the difference as the new dividend until
the first term of the divisor is of a greater degree than the new dividend. The last "new dividend"
whose degree is less than that of the divisor is the remainder. If the remainder is zero, the divisor
divided evenly into the dividend. In the example below, f (x) = x4 +4x3 + x - 10 is divided by g(x)
= x2 + 3x - 5.

Figure 1: Long division of polynomials.

Here are the steps required for Dividing by a Polynomial Containing More Than One
Term (Long Division):

Step 1: Make sure the polynomial is written in descending order. If any terms are missing,
use a zero to fill in the missing term (this will help with the spacing).

Step 2: Divide the term with the highest power inside the division symbol by the term
with the highest power outside the division symbol.

Step 3: Multiply (or distribute) the answer obtained in the previous step by the polynomial
in front of the division symbol.

Step 4: Subtract and bring down the next term.

Step 5: Repeat Steps 2, 3, and 4 until there are no more terms to bring down.

Step 6: Write the final answer. The term remaining after the last subtract step is the
remainder and must be written as a fraction in the final answer.
 UNIVERSITY OF CAGAYAN VALLEY
(Formerly Cagayan Colleges Tuguegarao)
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines
SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS AND TEACHER EDUCATION

Example 1 – Divide:

Step 1: Make sure the polynomial is written in

descending order. If any terms are missing, use a zero to
fill in the missing term (this will help with the spacing).
In this case, the problem is ready as is.
Step 2: Divide the term with the highest power inside the
division symbol by the term with the highest power
outside the division symbol. In this case, we have
x3 divided by x which is x2.

Step 3: Multiply (or distribute) the answer obtained in the

previous step by the polynomial in front of the division
symbol. In this case, we need to multiply x2 and x + 2.

Step 4: Subtract and bring down the next term.

Step 5: Divide the term with the highest power inside the
division symbol by the term with the highest power
outside the division symbol. In this case, we have –
6x2 divided by x which is –6x.

Step 6: Multiply (or distribute) the answer obtained in the

previous step by the polynomial in front of the division
symbol. In this case, we need to multiply –6x and x + 2.

Step 7: Subtract and bring down the next term.

Step 8: Divide the term with the highest power inside the
division symbol by the term with the highest power
outside the division symbol. In this case, we have 14x
divided by x which is +14.
 UNIVERSITY OF CAGAYAN VALLEY
(Formerly Cagayan Colleges Tuguegarao)
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines
SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS AND TEACHER EDUCATION

Step 9: Multiply (or distribute) the answer obtained in the

previous step by the polynomial in front of the division
symbol. In this case, we need to multiply 14 and x + 2.

Step 10: Subtract and notice there are no more terms to

bring down.

Step 11: Write the final answer. The term remaining after
the last subtract step is the remainder and must be written
as a fraction in the final answer.

Example 2 – Divide:

Step 1: Make sure the polynomial is written

in descending order. If any terms are
missing, use a zero to fill in the missing
term (this will help with the spacing). In
this case, we should get:
Step 2: Divide the term with the highest
power inside the division symbol by the
term with the highest power outside the
division symbol. In this case, we have
4x3 divided by x2 which is 4x.
Step 3: Multiply (or distribute) the answer
obtained in the previous step by the
polynomial in front of the division symbol.
In this case, we need to multiply 4x and x2 +
3x – 2.

Step 4: Subtract and bring down the next

term.
 UNIVERSITY OF CAGAYAN VALLEY
(Formerly Cagayan Colleges Tuguegarao)
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines
SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS AND TEACHER EDUCATION

Step 5: Divide the term with the highest

power inside the division symbol by the
term with the highest power outside the
division symbol. In this case, we have –
25x2 divided by x2 which is –25.
Step 6: Multiply (or distribute) the answer
obtained in the previous step by the
polynomial in front of the division symbol.
In this case, we need to multiply –25 and
x2 + 3x – 2.

Step 7: Subtract and notice there are no

more terms to bring down.

Step 8: Write the final answer. The term

remaining after the last subtract step is the
remainder and must be written as a fraction
in the final answer.

EXERCISES:
3 2
x +3 x −14 x−12
1. 2
x + x −6

3 2
8 x + 4 x −7
2.
x +3

4
12 x + 8 x +3
3.
x−6