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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 ...
The zero polynomial is also unique in that it is the only polynomial in one indeterminate that has an infinite number of roots. The graph of the zero polynomial, f ( x ) = 0 , is the x -axis. In the case of polynomials in more than one indeterminate, a polynomial is called homogeneous of degree n if all of its non-zero terms have degree n .
For polynomials in two or more variables, the degree of a term is the sum of the exponents of the variables in the term; the degree (sometimes called the total degree) of the polynomial is again the maximum of the degrees of all terms in the polynomial. For example, the polynomial x 2 y 2 + 3x 3 + 4y has degree 4, the same degree as the term x ...
Every polynomial in one variable x with real coefficients can be uniquely written as the product of a constant, polynomials of the form x + a with a real, and polynomials of the form x 2 + ax + b with a and b real and a 2 − 4b < 0 (which is the same thing as saying that the polynomial x 2 + ax + b has no real roots).
In the polynomial + the only possible rational roots would have a numerator that divides 6 and a denominator that divides 1, limiting the possibilities to ±1, ±2, ±3, and ±6. Of these, 1, 2, and –3 equate the polynomial to zero, and hence are its rational roots (in fact these are its only roots since a cubic polynomial has only three roots).
One advantage of this proof over the others is that it shows not only that a polynomial must have a zero but the number of its zeros is equal to its degree (counting, as usual, multiplicity). Another use of Rouché's theorem is to prove the open mapping theorem for analytic functions. We refer to the article for the proof.
It follows from the present theorem and the fundamental theorem of algebra that if the degree of a real polynomial is odd, it must have at least one real root. [2] This can be proved as follows. Since non-real complex roots come in conjugate pairs, there are an even number of them; But a polynomial of odd degree has an odd number of roots;
A constant function is also considered linear in this context, as it is a polynomial of degree zero or is the zero polynomial. Its graph, when there is only one variable, is a horizontal line. In this context, a function that is also a linear map (the other meaning) may be referred to as a homogeneous linear function or a linear form.