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27 Polynomials

A polynomial is an expression with terms consisting of variables combined using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division by constants. Polynomials can contain variables, constants, and exponents that are non-negative integers. Division by a variable is not allowed. Common polynomials include monomials with one term, binomials with two terms, and trinomials with three terms. Polynomials can have any number of terms but not an infinite number. The degree of a polynomial refers to the highest exponent of any variable in the polynomial.

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105 views5 pages

27 Polynomials

A polynomial is an expression with terms consisting of variables combined using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division by constants. Polynomials can contain variables, constants, and exponents that are non-negative integers. Division by a variable is not allowed. Common polynomials include monomials with one term, binomials with two terms, and trinomials with three terms. Polynomials can have any number of terms but not an infinite number. The degree of a polynomial refers to the highest exponent of any variable in the polynomial.

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Polynomials

A polynomial looks like this:

example of a polynomial
this one has 3 terms
Polynomial comes from poly- (meaning "many") and -nomial (in this case meaning "term")
... so it says "many terms"

A polynomial can have:


constants (like 3, -20, or )
variables (like x and y)
exponents (like the 2 in y2), but only 0, 1, 2, 3, ... etc are allowed
that can be combined using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division ...

... except ...


... not division by a variable (so something like 2/x is right out)
So:
A polynomial can have constants, variables and exponents,
but never division by a variable.

Polynomial or Not?

These are polynomials:

3x

x-2

-6y2 - (7/9)x

3xyz + 3xy2z - 0.1xz - 200y + 0.5

512v5+ 99w5

(Yes, even "5" is a polynomial, one term is allowed, and it can even be just a constant!)
And these are not polynomials

3xy-2 is not, because the exponent is "-2" (exponents can only be 0,1,2,...)

2/(x+2) is not, because dividing by a variable is not allowed

1/x is not either

x is not, because the exponent is ""

But these are allowed:

x/2 is allowed, because you can divide by a constant

also 3x/8 for the same reason

2 is allowed, because it is a constant (= 1.4142...etc)

Monomial, Binomial, Trinomial


There are special names for polynomials with 1, 2 or 3 terms:

There is also quadrinomial (4 terms) and quintinomial (5 terms),


but those names are not often used.

Can Have Lots and Lots of Terms


Polynomials can have as many terms as needed, but not an infinite number of terms.

Variables
Polynomials can have no variable at all
Example: 21 is a polynomial. It has just one term, which is a constant.
Or one variable
4

Example: x

-2x2+x has three terms, but only one variable (x)

Or two or more variables


4

Example: xy

-5x2z has two terms, and three variables (x, y and z)

What is Special About Polynomials?


Because of the strict definition, polynomials are easy to work with.
For example we know that:

If you add polynomials you get a polynomial

If you multiply polynomials you get a polynomial

So you can do lots of additions and multiplications, and still have a polynomial as the result.
Also, polynomials of one variable are easy to graph, as they have smooth and continuous
lines.
4

Example: x -2x +x

See how nice and


smooth the curve is?

You can also divide polynomials (but the result may not be a polynomial).

Degree
The degree of a polynomial with only one variable is the largest exponent of that variable.

Example:
The Degree is 3 (the largest exponent of x)

Standard Form
The Standard Form for writing a polynomial is to put the terms with the highest degree first.

Example: Put this in Standard Form: 3x2 - 7 + 4x3 + x6


The highest degree is 6, so that goes first, then 3, 2 and then the constant last:

x6 + 4x3 + 3x2 - 7

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