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A root of a polynomial is a zero of the corresponding polynomial function. [1] The fundamental theorem of algebra shows that any non-zero polynomial has a number of roots at most equal to its degree , and that the number of roots and the degree are equal when one considers the complex roots (or more generally, the roots in an algebraically ...
In this case a point that is neither a pole nor a zero is viewed as a pole (or zero) of order 0. A meromorphic function may have infinitely many zeros and poles. This is the case for the gamma function (see the image in the infobox), which is meromorphic in the whole complex plane, and has a simple pole at every non-positive integer.
For polynomials with more than one indeterminate, the combinations of values for the variables for which the polynomial function takes the value zero are generally called zeros instead of "roots". The study of the sets of zeros of polynomials is the object of algebraic geometry.
The number of positive real roots is at most the number of sign changes in the sequence of polynomial's coefficients (omitting zero coefficients), and the difference between the root count and the sign change count is always even. In particular, when the number of sign changes is zero or one, then there are exactly zero or one positive roots.
The expression + + , especially when treated as an object in itself rather than as a function, is a quadratic polynomial, a polynomial of degree two. In elementary mathematics a polynomial and its associated polynomial function are rarely distinguished and the terms quadratic function and quadratic polynomial are nearly synonymous and ...
The function f(x) = ax 2 + bx + c is a quadratic function. [16] The graph of any quadratic function has the same general shape, which is called a parabola. The location and size of the parabola, and how it opens, depend on the values of a, b, and c. If a > 0, the parabola has a minimum point and opens upward.
The critical points of a cubic function are its stationary points, that is the points where the slope of the function is zero. [2] Thus the critical points of a cubic function f defined by f(x) = ax 3 + bx 2 + cx + d, occur at values of x such that the derivative + + = of the cubic function is zero.
Algebraic functions are functions that can be expressed as the solution of a polynomial equation with integer coefficients. Polynomials: Can be generated solely by addition, multiplication, and raising to the power of a positive integer. Constant function: polynomial of degree zero, graph is a horizontal straight line