Originally posted by Deadly:
These 2 questions I have been pondering over for some time now, can't seem to be able to find a solution to them. Need help!
1) A quadratic function f(x) = k(x - 1)(x - m) is such that m > 1. The point (0, -12) lies on hte graph of y = f(x).
a) Write down an equation connecting k and m.
b) Write down the coordinates of the points where the graph cuts the x-axis.
Given that the function has a maximum value of 6.75,
c) Write down the coordinates of the maximum point of y = f(x) in terms of m.
d) Hence, find the value of m.
2) A polynomial P(x) is such that P(x) = px^4 + 4x^3 - 3x^2 + qx - 5. When P(x) is divided by x^2 - 1 the remainder is 5x - 6.
a) Express P(x) in terms of x^2 - 1 and the remainder 5x - 6. Hence find the values of p and q.
b) Solve the equation P(x) = 2x^4 + 7x - 10.
Thanks in advance
For part b),
Taking answer from a) which is p = 2, q = 1,
P(x) = 2x^4 + 7x - 10
2x^4 + 4x^3 - 3x^2 + x - 5 = 2x^4 + 7x - 10
4x^3 - 3x^2 - 6x + 5 = 0
Let h(x) = 4x^3 - 3x^2 - 6x + 5
h(1) = 4 - 3 - 6 + 5
= 0
Thus, x - 1 is a factor of h(x)
You can use long division to find the quotient.
However, I like to use another method called synthetic division.
4`````-3```````-6````````5
``````4````````1````````-5
```````````````````````````````````1
_______________________________
``````4````````1````````-5````0
From here,
h(x) = (x - 1)(4x^2 + x - 5)
(x - 1)(4x^2 + x - 5) = 0
(x - 1)(4x + 5)(x - 1) = 0
Therefore, x = 1 (repeated) or x = -5/4