Politecnico di Torino

Bridging course in
mathematics
Sheet 1
Polynomials

1 Start-up: sets of numbers

The following symbols will be used in the sequel to indicate numerical sets:
• natural numbers, denoted by N = {0, 1, 2, 3, ...};
• integer numbers, denoted by Z = {. . ., −3, −2, −1, 0, +1, +2, +3, ...};
• rational numbers, denoted by Q; a rational number can be written as a
ratio m/n of two integers, with n 6= 0.
• real numbers, denoted by R; the set of real numbers contains the rational
numbers as well as the irrational ones.
We shall usually work with real numbers.

2 Definitions
A polynomial in the variable x with real coefficients (a real polynomial in x, for
short) is an expression of the form

An (x) = a0 + a1 x + ... + an xn ,
where a0 , a1 , ..., an are real numbers (called the coefficients of the polynomial)
and an 6= 0 (the leading coefficient). The summands are called monomials. The
degree of a polynomial is the maximum exponent of the non-zero monomials
appearing in the expression. Above, having assumed an 6= 0, the degree equals
n.
A real number c such that An (c) = 0 is called a root, or zero, of the
polynomial.
Two polynomials are equal if they have the same degree and the coefficients
of the monomials of equal degree coincide.
3 Operations between polynomials
3.1 Sum and product
The sum of two polynomials is the polynomial obtained by adding the coeffi-
cients of the monomials with the same degree. For example:

(x2 + 2x − 5) + (x3 − x + 2) = (0x3 + x2 + 2x − 5) + (x3 + 0x2 − x + 2) =

(0 + 1)x3 + (1 + 0)x2 + (2 − 1)x + (−5 + 2) = x3 + x2 + x − 3.

In a similar way one defines the difference of two polynomials.

The product is the polynomial of the form An (x) · Bm (x) = Cn+m (x) =
c0 + c1 x + ... + cn+m xn+m , where the coefficients are given by:

c0 = a0 b 0 , c1 = a1 b 0 + a0 b 1 , ck = a0 bk + a1 bk−1 + a2 bk−2 + ....ak−1 b1 + ak b0 .

Let’s see how to compute the product in practice:

(x−1)(x2 +x+1) = x2 (x−1)+x(x−1)+(x−1) = x3 −x2 +x2 −x+x−1 = x3 −1.

Detailed exercises
1. (3x5 + x3 ) + (x − 1 + x4 − 5x3 ) =
3x5 + x4 + x3 − 5x3 + x − 1 = 3x5 + x4 − 4x3 + x − 1

2. (x3 + 1)(3x2 + x − 5) =
x3 ·3x2 +x3 ·x+x3 ·(−5)+1·3x2 +1·x+1·(−5) = 3x5 +x4 −5x3 +3x2 +x−5

3. (x2 − 1)(x2 + 1) = x4 − x2 + x2 − 1 = x4 − 1
 2 
x − y2 y
 
4. Simplify the expression + y 1+1 :
x+y x−y x y
 
(x + y)(x − y) y x+y y x+y x+y
x+y + y x − y xy = (x − y + y) x − y xy = x − y

5. Determine A, B, C so that 3x2 + 6 = A B C

x3 − x2 − 6x x + x − 3 + x + 2:

A B C A(x − 3)(x + 2) + Bx(x + 2) + Cx(x − 3)

+ + =
x x−3 x+2 x3 − x2 − 6x
2
(A + B + C)x + (−A + 2B − 3C)x − 6A
=
x3 − x2 − 6x

 (A + B + C)x2 = 3x2
(−A + 2B − 3C)x = 0 · x
−6A = 6



 A+B+C =3
−A + 2B − 3C = 0
−6A = 6


Answer: A = −1, B = 11/5, C = 9/5

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3.2 Dividing polynomials
Given two polynomials An (x), Bm (x) of degree n and m respectively, with n ≥
m, there exist polynomials Q(x) and R(x), called the quotient and remainder,
such that:
• the degree of R(x) is less than m;
• we have
An (x) = Bm (x)Q(x) + R(x). (1)
This can be written as follows
An (x) R(x)
= Q(x) + . (2)
Bm (x) Bm (x)

Definition 3.1 If the remainder R(x) in equation (1) is the zero polynomial,
one says that Bm (x) divides An (x), or that An (x) is divisible by Bm (x).
In order to compute the quotient and the remainder we divide by decreasing
degree; we shall describe this method by an example. Take A(x) = 2x4 + x3 −
x + 2 of deg = 4 and B(x) = x2 + 3 of deg = 2. This means the quotient will
have degree deg Q = 4 − 2 = 2 and the remainder deg R < 2.
1. After ordering the monomials by decreasing degree, compute the quotient
between the leading monomials of A(x) and B(x), and obtain 2x2 .
2. Compute the product 2x2 · B(x) and subtract it from A(x); this gives a
polynomial of degree 3, say R3 (x).
3. What we have done so far can be arranged in a grid:

2x4 +x3 +0x2 −x +2 x2 +3

2x4 +6x2 2x2
R3 (x) ; +x3 −6x2 −x +2

4. Now repeat the procedure, and divide the leading monomial of R3 (x) by
x2 ; the result x is added to 2x2 . Continuing in the same way one finds
the polynomial of degree two R2 (x) = R3 (x) − xB(x).
5. Next, divide R2 (x) by x2 , and get −6. Then compute R1 (x) = R2 (x) −
(−6)B(x).
The grid now looks as follows.

2x4 +x3 +0x2 −x +2 x2 +3

4 2 2
2x +6x 2x +x −6
+x3 −6x2 −x +2
3
xB(x) ; +x +3x
R2 (x) ; −6x2 −4x +2
2
−6x −18
R1 (x) ; −4x +20

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 The polynomial R1 (x) = −4x + 20 has degree smaller than the degree of
B(x), and is therefore the remainder of the division. Equation (1) in the present
case reads:

2x4 + x3 − x + 2 = (2x2 + x − 6)(x2 + 3) + (−4x + 20).

Detailed exercises
3 2
1. x + 3xx −
+5
13x − 15

x3 +3x2 −13x −15 x +5

x3 +5x2 x2 −2x −3
−2x2 −13x −15
2
−2x −10x
−3x −15
−3x −15
0

Answer: (x − 3)(x + 1)

6
2. x 2 + 15
x −1

x6 +15 x2 −1
x6 −x4 x4 +x2 +1
x4 +15
x4 −x2
x2 +15
x2 −1
+16

Answer: (x4 + x2 + 1) + 16
x2 − 1

4 Factorization
Factorizing a polynomial consists in writing it as a product of irreducible poly-
nomials.
If we consider polynomials with real coefficients (as in Calculus), polynomials
of degree one, and polynomials of degree two having negative discriminant are
irreducible. For higher degree, it is more complicated to tell.
But remember that a polynomial cannot always be factorized in the practice.
We remind a few ways to decompose a polynomial.

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 • Finding a common factor: x4 − 3x3 + 5x2 = x2 (x2 − 3x + 5).
• Using partial factors

q(x) = x4 +a2 x2 +b2 x2 +a2 b2 = x2 (x2 +a2 )+b2 (x2 +a2 ) = (x2 +a2 )(x2 +b2 ).

The presence of factors of degree one in a polynomial is easy to check, due

to the following theorem.

Theorem 4.1 (x − c) divides the polynomial An (x) if and only if An (c) = 0.

Using this result we have:

a) the binomial xn − an can always be divided by x − a;
if n is even also x + a divides it.
b) The binomial xn + an is divisible by x + a if n is odd;
if n is even neither x + a, nor x − a, divide it.

Remark 4.2 For polynomials with integer coefficients there are theorems that
can help to find integer or rational roots:

• the integer roots (if any) should be looked for among the factors with sign
of the constant term, including 1;
• the rational roots (if any) should be looked for among the rationals of the
form ±p/q, where p is a factor of the constant term, and q is a factor of
the leading coefficient.

4.1 Ruffini’s method

To divide a polynomial by x − c we use an algorithm, called Ruffini-Horner
algorithm, which is conventionally written in a table.
As example, we will divide the degree-three polynomial A(x) = 4x3 − 5x + 7
by B(x) = x − 2.

1. First of all, draw three lines as in the picture below: two vertical ones and
one horizontal.
2. Begin by writing the coefficients of the monomials of A(x) on the first
row, ordered from the highest degree to the smallest; the constant term 7
should be written to the right of the second vertical bar.
3. On the second row write 2 (the constant term of B(x)) to the far left.

4 0 −5 7
2

4. The row below the horizontal line and between the bars houses the quo-
tient’s coefficients; the remainder will appear in the bottom right corner.
Now let’s start the algorithm:

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Politecnico di Torino 5 Bridging course in mathematics
 (a) copy 4 (the leading coefficient in A(x)) in the first place below the
horizontal line;

4 0 −5 7
2 8
4

(b) write, under the coefficient of x2 , the product 2 times 4, then add it
to the number above it and write the result below the bar;

4 0 −5 7
2 8
4 8
(c) repeat this procedure until you obtain the remainder:

4 0 −5 7
2 8 16 22
4 8 11 29

Detailed exercises
1. x3 − 3x2 + 2x
There is a common factor. Answer: x(x2 − 3x + 2) = x(x − 1)(x − 2)

2. x3 + x2 + x + 1
There are partial common factors. Answer: x(x2 + 1) + 1(x2 + 1) =
(x + 1)(x2 + 1)

3. 3x3 − 9x − 6
3x3 − 9x − 6 = 3(x3 − 3x − 2) is divisible by x − 2

x3 −3x −2 x −2
x3 −2x2 x2 +2x +1
2x2 −3x −2
2
2x −4x
x −2
x −2
0

Answer: 3(x3 − 3x − 2) = 3(x2 + 2x + 1)(x − 2) = 3(x + 1)2 (x − 2)

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 4. x3 − 8
is divisible by x − 2

x3 −8 x −2
3 2 2
x −2x x +2x +4
2x2 −8
2
2x −4x
4x −8
4x −8
0

Answer: (x2 + 2x + 4)(x − 2)

5. Find all numbers α for which (x − α) divides the expression

(x3 − 9x)(x + 5)2 (x2 − 4)3 .

(x3 − 9x)(x+ 5)2 (x2 − 4)3 = x(x− 3)(x+ 3)(x+ 5)2 (x− 2)3 (x+ 2)3 Answer:
0, −3, 3, −5, −2, 2

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Politecnico di Torino 7 Bridging course in mathematics
5 EXERCISES – POLYNOMIALS AND
RATIONAL FUNCTIONS
true or false?
1. The coefficient of t2 in the polynomial 3t − 2 − t3 is 0. T F

2. x3 − 3x − 2 has only the roots −1 and 2. T F

3x − y 3x − y − 1
3. y − x − 1 − 1 = y − x − 1 . T F

x−y 1−y x − y2
4. 2x + 2y = 2xy . T F

5. (3x − y)(−3x − y) = −9x2 − y 2 . T F

6. The remainder of the division between
3x5 − 4x + 7 and x + 2 is 95. T F
7. The constant polynomial 4 divides the polynomial
16x3 − 12x2 + 4x + 1. T F

8. x − 1 divides x3 − 4x2 + 5x + 4. T F

9. Dividing x18 − 1 by x + 1 gives no remainder. T F

√
10. Dividing 2x − 2 by 5 gives remainder 0. T F

Exercise 1
Compute
 
x−y y

1 1 1 x

1. x − y +
y x +y
2 2 +
x−y x+y
 
2. x − 2 − x − 1 2x
x2 + 5x + 6 x2 + 4x + 3 x2 + 3x + 2

Exercise 2
Compute remainder and quotient of the following expressions
4 3 2 3 2
1. x + 2x − 214x + 2x − 15 3. x − x x−−52x
5
+ 160
x +1
5 3
+ x2 + 6 (x2 + 5)(x2 − 9)
2. 2x + 12x 4.
x3 − 4 2x2 + 3

Exercise 3
Find the numbers that verify the equality, when substituted to A and B:
3x A B
2
= +
4−x 2−x 2+x

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Politecnico di Torino 8 Bridging course in mathematics
Exercise 4
For which value of the parameter a does x − a divide (x2 − 4)(x − 8)3 ?

Exercise 5
Factorize:

1. x6 − y 6 7. 2x3 − 5x2 − 28x + 15

2. x4 + 1 − 2x2 8. x3 − 6x2 − 2x + 7
3. 5a4 + 5a
9. x4 − 4x3 − 4x2 + 28x − 21
4. a4 − 3a3 − 10a2
5. x3 + x2 − 4x − 4 10. x2 + 17x+ 16

6. (x3 − 8)(x + 2) + (x3 + 8)(x − 2) 11. (x + 1)2 − (x − 1)2

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6 SOLUTIONS
True or false? Exercise 5
True: 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 10 1. (x + y)(x − y)(x2 + xy + y 2 )(x2 −
xy + y 2 )
Exercise 1
2. (x + 1)2 (x − 1)2
1. − 12 2. 1
−x + 3
y 3. 5a(a + 1)(a2 − a + 1)
Exercise 2 4. a2 (a + 2)(a − 5)
1. Q = x2 + 2x − 15 R=0
5. (x + 1)(x + 2)(x − 2)
2. Q = 2x2 + 12 R = 9x2 + 54
6. 2(x + 2)(x − 2)(x2 + 4)
2
3. Q = x + 4x − 32 R=0
1 2 11
7. (x + 3)(x − 5)(2x − 1)
4. Q = 2x − R = − 147
4 4  √  √ 
8. (x−1) x − 5 + 53 x− 5 − 53
Exercise 3 2 2
√
√

A = 3/2, B = −3/2 9. (x − 1)(x − 3) x − 7 x+ 7

Exercise 4 10. (x + 1)(x + 16)

a ∈ {−2, 2, 8} 11. 4x

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