P Prerequisites

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 Last Lecture Objectives

 Use scientific notation to represent real numbers.

 Use properties of radicals.

 Simplify and combine radicals.

 Rationalize denominators and numerators.

 Use properties of rational exponents.

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 Polynomials and Special
P.3
Products

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 Objectives

 Write polynomials in standard form.

 Add, subtract, and multiply polynomials.

 Use special products to multiply polynomials.

 Use polynomials to solve real-life problems.

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Polynomials
 Polynomials

One of the most common types of algebraic expressions is the polynomial.

Some examples are 2x + 5, 3x4 – 7x2 + 2x + 4, and

5x y – xy + 3.
2 2

The first two are polynomials in x and the third is a polynomial in x and y.

The terms of a polynomial in x have the form k

ax , where a is the coefficient and
k is the degree of the term.

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 Polynomials

For instance, the polynomial

2x 3 – 5x 2 +1= 2x 3 + (–5)x 2 + (0)x + 1

has coefficients 2, –5, 0, and 1.

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 Polynomials

Polynomials with one, two, and three terms are called monomials, binomials,
and trinomials, respectively.

A polynomial written with descending powers of x is in

standard form.

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 Example 1 – Writing Polynomials in Standard Form

Leading
Polynomial Standard Form Degree Coefficient

a. 4x2 – 5x7 – 2 + 3x –5x7 + 4x2 + 3x – 2 7 –5

b. 4 – 9x2 –9x2 + 4 2 –9

c. 8 8 (8 = 8x0) 0 8

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Practice 0.16

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 Polynomials

A polynomial that has all zero coefficients is called the zero polynomial, denoted
by 0.

No degree is assigned to the zero polynomial.

For polynomials in more than one variable, the degree of a term is the sum of the
exponents of the variables in the term.

The degree of the polynomial is the highest degree of its terms.

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 Polynomials

For instance, the degree of the polynomial

–2x3y6 + 4xy – x7y4 is 11 because the sum of the exponents in the last term is the
greatest.
The leading coefficient of the polynomial is the coefficient of the highest-degree
term.
Expressions are not polynomials when a variable is underneath a radical or when
a polynomial expression (with degree greater than 0) is in the denominator of a
term.

For example, the expressions x3 – = x3 – (3x)1/2

2 2 –1
and x + = x + 5x are not polynomials.

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Operations with Polynomials
 Operations with Polynomials

You can add and subtract polynomials in much the same way you add and
subtract real numbers.

Add or subtract the like terms (terms having the same variables to the same
powers) by adding or subtracting their coefficients.

For instance, –3xy 2 and 5xy 2 are like terms and their sum is

–3xy2 + 5xy2 = (–3 + 5)xy2

= 2
2xy .

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 Example 2 – Sums and Differences of Polynomials

a. (5x3 – 7x2 – 3) + (x3 + 2x2 – x + 8)

= (5x 3 + 3
x) + (–7x 2 + 2
2x ) – x + (–3 + 8)
Group like terms.
= 6x 3 – 5x 2 –x+5
Combine like terms.

b. (7x4 – x2 – 4x + 2) – (3x4 – 4x2 + 3x)

= 7x4 – x2 – 4x + 2 – 3x4 + 4x2 – 3x
Distributive Property
= (7x4 – 3x4) + (–x2 + 4x2) + (–4x – 3x) + 2
Group like terms.
= 4x 4 + 3x 2 – 7x + 2
Combine like terms.

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 Operations with Polynomials

To find the product of two polynomials, use the left and right Distributive
Properties. For example, if you treat 5x + 7 as a single quantity, then you can
multiply 3x – 2 by 5x + 7 as follows.
(3x – 2)(5x + 7) = 3x(5x + 7) – 2(5x + 7)
= (3x)(5x) + (3x)(7) – (2)(5x) – (2)(7)
= 15x 2 + 21x – 10x – 14

= 15x2 + 11x – 14

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 Operations with Polynomials

Note in this FOIL Method (which can only be used to multiply two binomials) that
the outer (O) and inner (I) terms are like terms and can be combined.

When multiplying two polynomials, be sure to multiply each term of one

polynomial by each term of the other. A vertical arrangement can be helpful.

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Example 3 – Finding a Product by the FOIL Method

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Example 4 – A Vertical Arrangement for Multiplication

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Practice 0.17

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Special Products
 Special Products

Some binomial products have special forms that occur frequently in algebra.

You do not need to memorize these formulas because you can use the
Distributive Property to multiply.

However, becoming familiar with these formulas will enable you to manipulate the
algebra more quickly

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Special Products

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 Example 5 – Sum and Difference of Same Terms

Find the product of 5x + 9 and 5x – 9.

Solution:
The product of a sum and a difference of the same two terms has no middle term
and takes the form
(u + v)(u – v) = u2 – 2
v.

(5x + 9)(5x – 9) = (5x)2 – 92

= 25x 2 – 81

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Example 6 – Square of a Binomial

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Example 7 – Cube of a Binomial

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Example 8 – The Product of Two Trinomials

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Practice 0.18

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Application
 Example 9 – Volume of a Box

An open box is made by cutting squares from the corners of a piece of metal that
is 16 inches by 20 inches, as shown in the figure. The edge of each cut-out
square is x inches. Find the volume of the box in terms of x. Then find the volume
of the box when x = 1, x = 2, and x = 3.

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 Example 9 – Solution

The volume of a rectangular box is equal to the product of its length, width, and
height. From the figure, the length is 20 – 2x, the width is 16 – 2x, and the height
is x.

So, the volume of the box is

Volume = (20 – 2x)(16 – 2x)(x)

= (320 – 72x + 4x2)(x)

= 320x – 72x 2 + 3
4x .

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 Example 9 – Solution
cont’d

When x = 1 inch, the volume of the box is

Volume = 320(1) – 72(1)2 + 4(1)3

= 252 cubic inches.

When x = 2 inches, the volume of the box is

Volume = 320(2) – 72(2)2 + 4(2)3

= 384 cubic inches.

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 Example 9 – Solution
cont’d

When x = 3 inches, the volume of the box is

Volume = 320(3) – 72(3)2 + 4(3)3

= 420 cubic inches.

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Practice 0.19

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Assignment
 Assignment 0.6

 P(31,32) in the Textbook Exercises:

 14, 18, 25, 28, 40, 42, 44, 50,74, 77, 80.

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