Name _____________________________________ Date_________________________ Period ____________

Polynomials Polynomial - A monomial or a sum of monomials. A monomial is a simple "term." It is a number, variable, or the product of a number and one or more variables with whole number exponents. Labeling According to the Number if Terms Terms are separated by + and - signs. Polynomials with 1, 2, or 3 terms have specific names, while polynomials of 4 or more terms are simply called polynomials of # terms. Take a look at the table below. # of Terms Name Examples 1 2 3 4 5 ...etc. Monomial Binomial Trinomial Polynomial of 4 terms Polynomial of 5 terms Polynomial of _ terms 3x2 4x - 2 2x2 + 4x - 3 5x3 + 2x2 + 8x - 2x5 4 + 3x2 + x6 - 8x - 10x2 4x2 - 5x - 11 + ... + 3x + 7x5

Labeling According to the Degree The degree of a polynomial is determined by the exponents. It is determined by the largest exponent. Degree Name Examples 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...etc. Constant Linear Quadratic Cubic Quartic Quintic Polynomial of degree 6 Polynomial of degree # 5 3x + 7 2x2 + 4x - 3 5x3 + 2x 3x4 + 2x3 - 8 x5 - 2x3 + 6x - 3 2x6 (Largest exponent is higher than 6)

Standard Form For simplicity, it is often preferred to put a polynomial into standard form. This means that the terms are place in descending order (highest to lowest) according to their degree. 5x2 + 4x - 2 Looking at the Graphs of Polynomials The end behavior of a graph is what happens at the far left and the far right. Two factors determine the end behavior: positive or negative, and whether the degree is even or odd. For the examples below, we will use x2 and x3, but the end behavior will be the same for any even degree or any odd degree. However, keep in mind that what happens "in the middle" will change...

Even Degree (ex: x2, x4, x6,...) Positive: Up, Up Negative: Down, Down

Odd Degree (ex: x3, x5,...) Positive: Down, Up Negative: Up, Down

Multiplying Polynomials Multiplying Binomials FOIL is an acronym that stands for First Outer Inner Last. These four words remind you of the four terms that you must multiply together in order to expand a binomial multiplied by a binomial. (x + 3)(x + 6) binomial times binomial FIRST: Multiply the first term of each binomial. x x OUTSIDE: Multiply the two terms on the outside: x 6 INSIDE: Multiply the two terms on the inside: 3 x LAST: Multiply the last term of each binomial: 3 6 F: O: I: L: xx x6 3x 36 x2 6x 3x 18 x2 + 6x + 3x + 18 x2 + 9x + 18

This means that FOIL helps us to expand (x + 3)(x + 6) into x2 +9x + 18 Using a Table Make a grid of boxes. Then, fill in the binomials as shown. Multiply each corresponding row and column. Combine like terms. Multiplying Polynomials Multiply every term in the first parenthesis by every term in the second parenthesis. (2x2 + 5x 1)(4x 3) 2x2(4x-3) + 5x(4x-3) -1(4x-3) Special Products Sum and Difference Pattern (a+b)(a b) = a2 b2

Square of a Binomial Pattern (a + b)2 = a2 + 2ab + b2 (a - b)2 = a2 - 2ab + b2