Questioner the following polynomial function. of 4 : Factor the polynomial completely.
Studdy Solution
STEP 1
What is this asking?
We're asked to completely factor a 4th-degree polynomial, which means we want to rewrite it as a product of simpler terms.
Watch out!
Factoring higher-degree polynomials can be tricky!
We need to be strategic and use all the tools at our disposal.
STEP 2
1. Find a root
2. Divide by the factor
3. Factor the quotient
STEP 3
Let's try some small values of to see if we can find a root.
If we plug in , we get
Wow, we got lucky! is a root, so is a factor.
STEP 4
Now, let's divide the original polynomial by . So, .
STEP 5
Let's try factoring the cubic by grouping.
We can rewrite the cubic as
Notice that we have a common factor of .
Factoring this out, we get
STEP 6
We can rewrite as a difference of squares: .
STEP 7
Putting it all together, the completely factored form of the polynomial is
Was this helpful?