Precalculus (10th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-32197-907-9
ISBN 13: 978-0-32197-907-0

Chapter 4 - Polynomial and Rational Functions - 4.5 The Real Zeros of a Polynomial Function - 4.5 Assess Your Understanding - Page 233: 53

Answer

$\{-2,-1,1,1 \}$, $f(x)=(x+2)(x+1)(x-1)^2$

Work Step by Step

Step 1. Given $f(x)=x^4+x^3-3x^2-x+2$, list possible rational zeros as $\frac{p}{q}=\pm1,\pm2$ Step 2. Use synthetic division as shown in the figure to find two zero $x=1,-1$. Step 3. Use the quotient to solve $x^2+x-2=0$ or $(x+2)(x-1)=0$, thus $x=-2,1$ Step 4. Thus the real zeros are $\{-2,-1,1,1 \}$ and we can factor the function as $f(x)=(x+2)(x+1)(x-1)^2$
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