3.1 Exploring Polynomial Functions
3.1 Exploring Polynomial Functions
where: b) f ( x) 2 x x 2
a n , a n1 ,...,a 2 , a1 , a0 are real numbers called the
coefficients of the polynomial function
a n is called leading coefficient 1
c) f ( x) x 2
n
a n x is called leading term x
a 0 is called the constant term
n is a non-negative integer that gives the degree
d) f ( x) ( x 1)( x 2) 2
of the polynomial function
B Order Ex 2. Consider f ( x) x 2 x 3 4 x 2 3 x 4
If n 2 , f ( x) a 2 x 2 a1 x a0 is called quadratic
b) f ( x) x 2 3
function.
If n 3 , f ( x) a3 x 3 a 2 x 2 a1 x a0 is called cubic
c) f ( x) 2 x 3 3x 2 x
function.
f) f ( x) 1 x 2 x 4 x
b) f ( x) g ( x)
c) f ( x) g ( x)
d) f ( x) / g ( x)
F Finite Differences Ex 6. Use the information provided bellow and the finite
differences method to find the degree of the polynomial
The nth finite differences of a polynomial function of function and the leading coefficient.
degree n are constant.
This constant c is related to a n and n by: x y 1 y 2 y 3 y 4 y 5 y
-4 -476
c n!an
-3 -134
where n! ( n factorial) is defined by
-2 -10
n! 1 2 3 ... (n 1) n
-1 16
a
2 -14
ba
b 3 -140
cb
4 -484
c