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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 closed extension) counted with their multiplicities. [3]
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 .
If the rational root test finds no rational solutions, then the only way to express the solutions algebraically uses cube roots. But if the test finds a rational solution r, then factoring out (x – r) leaves a quadratic polynomial whose two roots, found with the quadratic formula, are the remaining two roots of the cubic, avoiding cube roots.
The discriminant of a polynomial is a function of its coefficients that is zero if and only if the polynomial has a multiple root, or, if it is divisible by the square of a non-constant polynomial. In other words, the discriminant is nonzero if and only if the polynomial is square-free.
A quadratic equation has at most two solutions. If there is only one solution, one says that it is a double root. If all the coefficients are real numbers, there are either two real solutions, or a single real double root, or two complex solutions that are complex conjugates of each other. A quadratic equation always has two roots, if complex ...
The previous example involved an indicial polynomial with a repeated root, which gives only one solution to the given differential equation. In general, the Frobenius method gives two independent solutions provided that the indicial equation's roots are not separated by an integer (including zero).
In mathematics, the term linear function refers to two distinct but related notions: [1] In calculus and related areas, a linear function is a function whose graph is a straight line, that is, a polynomial function of degree zero or one. [2] For distinguishing such a linear function from the other concept, the term affine function is often used ...
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.