CHAPTER TWO - POLYNOMIALS

Abstract

Polynomials play an important role in the study of algebra since many word problems translate into equations or inequalities that involve polynomials. This chapter discusses the manipulative and mechanical aspects of polynomials; this will serve as background for dealing with their applications in other field of mathematics. The terms of a polynomial that differ only in their coefficients are called like terms. Polynomials are added by adding the coefficients of like terms. It is often helpful to regroup the terms before adding. To discuss the product of two polynomials, the chapter presents a reverse problem. Factors whose product will yield the given polynomial can be found. This process is known as factoring. The factoring is approached by learning to recognize the situations in which factoring is possible. It is sometimes possible to discover common factors by first grouping terms. Another type of factoring involves second-degree polynomials.