Algebra 2 (1st Edition)

Published by McDougal Littell
ISBN 10: 0618595414
ISBN 13: 978-0-61859-541-9

Chapter 5 Polynomials and Polynomial Functions - Spreadsheet Activity - 5.6 Use the Location Principle - Practice - Page 378: 1

Answer

$1, -1$ and $\frac{5}{2}$

Work Step by Step

We are given the function: $$f(x)=6x^3-10x^2-6x+10.$$ We use a spreadsheet to determine the value of $f(x)$ for several values of $x$: \[ \begin{array}{|c|c|c|} \hline & A & B \\ \hline 1 &x & f(x)\\ \hline 2 & 0 & 10\\ \hline 3 & 1 & 0\\ \hline 4 & 2 & 6\\ \hline 5 & 3 & 64\\ \hline 6 & 4 & 210\\ \hline 7 & 5 & 480\\ \hline \end{array}\] The spreadsheet shows that $f(1)=0$, which means $1$ is a zero of $f$. Apply synthetic division and we find that $f$ can be factored as: $$\begin{align*} f(x)&=(x-1)(6x^2-4x-10)\\ &=2(x-1)(3x^2+3x-5x-5)\\ &=2(x-1)(2x(x+1)-5(x+1))\\ &=2(x-1)(x+1)(2x-5). \end{align*}$$ This means the zeroes of the function are $1, -1$ and $\frac{5}{2}$.
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