Algebra 1

Section 4.1

Polynomial Expressions and Equations

Polynomial Expressions

Polynomials expressions have terms that only involve constants and variables being raised to
non-negative, integer, constant powers. There cannot be a variable in an exponent, nor can a variable
be raise to a negative
power (this is the same as having a variable in a denominator, as well discuss
in section V). x and other roots of x are also not polynomials. Like terms in a polynomial have
matching variable parts, and can be combined by adding the coefficients of the terms. For example,
4x2 y and 2yx2 are like terms because x2 y = yx2 , and so the two terms can be combined to form
2xy 2 . A polynomial expression is in its simplified when all like terms are combined.

A polynomial expression is classified based on the number of terms it has when all like terms are
combined. An expression with one term is called a monomial, an expression with two terms is called
a binomial, an expression with three terms is called a trinomial, and so on. "Poly" means many, so
an expression that fits the criteria listed above with multiple terms is called generally a polynomial.
Examples of polynomials with different numbers of terms are listed below.

Number of terms Name Example

1 Monomial x2
2 Binomial x+5
3 Trinomial x2 3x + 1

The degree of a polynomial is the highest power that any term in the polynomial has. The
power of a term is found by adding the exponents of all the variables in that term. The terms x3 and
xy 2 have power 3, for example.

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Adding Polynomial Expressions

Polynomial expressions can be added together just like numbers, because, just like numbers,
they represent a quantity. When adding two polynomial expressions, gather all the terms from both
expressions and put them in one larger expression. Them, combine like terms to simplify the larger
expression. For example, consider:

(x2 + 5x + 1) + (3x2 4x 2)

There are two trinomials being added, but realize that some of the coefficients in the second
trinomial are negative. This is fine, because adding a negative number is the same as subtracting.
When all the terms are put in a larger expression, the result is:

x2 + 5x + 1 + 3x2 4x 2

And after combining like terms, we are left with:

4x2 + x 1

This is the result of adding together the original two polynomials. You can think of each like
term as an object. For example, say x2 is an orange, x is an apple and the constant 1 is a mango.
Then, the original problem asks what is 1 apple plus 5 oranges plus 1 mango plus 3 apples minus
4 oranges minus 2 mangoes. Then, the problem becomes a lot simpler to understand. Obviously,
apples and apples can be combined, but one cannot add apples and oranges. Similarly, each term that
has a specific variable combination is distinct from the other terms with different variable combinations.

Subtracting polynomials follows the same logic, with the exception that the minus sign must be
distributed to all terms in the second polynomial. For example:

(5xy + 3x2 y 2 ) = 5xy 3x2 + y 2

That is, a minus sign flips the sign of all other terms. Negatives become positives and vice versa.
When subtracting polynomials, use this principle. For example:

(x2 + 5x + 1) (3x2 4x 2) = (x2 + 5x + 1) + (3x2 + 4x + 2) = 2x2 + 9x + 3

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FOILing Binomials

When multiplying two binomials, there is a convenient way to remember how the product is ob-
tained. It is the acronym FOIL, which stands for First Outer Inner Last. This means that to obtain
the product of two binomials, one multiplies the first terms of each binomial, the outer terms of each
binomial, the inner terms of each binomial, and the last terms of each binomial. These products are
then added. Consider the product:

(2x + 1)(3x 4)

The first terms are 2x and 3x. The outer terms are 2x and 4. The inner terms are 1 and 3x.
The last terms are 1 and 4. Thus, the respective products are 6x2 , 8x, 3x, and 4. Adding these
products yields

6x2 8x + 3x 4 = 6x2 5x 4.

Consider another problem:

(2x + 3y)(x y) = (2x)(x) + (2x)(y) + (3y)(x) + (3y)(y) = 2x2 2xy + 3yx 3y 2 = 2x2 + xy 3y 2

Foiling works with multiplying any two binomials, but ONLY multiplying any two binomials. It
will not work if a trinomial, or anything that is not a binomial, is involved in the multiplication.

FOIL can show us some rules that come up frequently with binomial multiplication. For example,
consider:

(a + b)2 = (a + b)(a + b) = a2 + ab + ba + b2 = a2 + 2ab + b2

This rule about the square of a binomial is part of the binomial theorem. Also consider:

(a + b)(a b) = a2 ab + ba b2 = a2 b2

This rule is called the difference of two squares.

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Multiplying Polynomials

Using FOIL is useful for multiplying two binomials, but if any of the polynomials being multi-
plied is not a binomial, then a more general technique is needed.

When multiplying two polynomials, take the first term of the first polynomial and multiply it by
every term of the second polynomial. Then, take the second term of the first polynomial and repeat
this process. Continue this until there are no more terms in the first polynomial. The products should
all be added to obtain the product of the original two polynomials. For example, if a, b, c, d, e, f , and
g represent distinct, non-like terms, then

(a + b + c + d)(e + f + g) = ae + af + ag + be + bf + bg + ce + cf + cg + de + df + dg

This method works for polynomials of any length, even two binomials. If you FOIL two binomials
and use this method, you will get the same result.

To find the product of more than two polynomials, first multiply the first two, and take the
product multiplied with the third polynomial. That product multiplied with the fourth polynomial
and so on until the final product is found.

Polynomial Equations

By setting any two polynomial expressions equal to each other, one can obtain a polynomial
equation. If the polynomial equation has exactly one variable, it can be solved for that variable (there
may be, and often are, multiple solutions). If the polynomial equation has two variables, it can be
graphed in a plane. Examples of polynomial equations with one and two variables respectively are
given below.

x2 + 3x 4 = 3x4 2x3

y 2 x + 3x2 = 2xy 3y 2

Note that the graphs of polynomial equations with multiple variables are not always functions.
We will discuss how to solve polynomial equations with one variable in 4.2 and how to graph polynomial
equations with two variables in 4.3 and 4.4.

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Examples

Here are a few examples to test the concepts provided in this section. Answers can be found on
the following pages.

1. How many terms are in a trinomial? In a monomial? In a binomial?

2. What is the result of subtracting the polynomial (4x 3xy + 4y 2 ) from the polynomial
(5x2 + 2xy 3y 2 )

3. Compute the product (x2 + 3y)(y 2 x).

4. Expand the following by polynomial multiplication: (x + y)3 .

5. Which of the following is a degree three polynomial?

A. x2 3
B. xy + y 2 3y + 5
C. xy 2
D. x4 3x2 + 1

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Solutions

These are the solutions to the questions on the previous page

1. There are three terms in a trinomial. There is one term in a monomial. There are two terms in
a binomial.

2. To perform the computation, remember that a minus sign flips the sign of all of the second
polynomials terms:

(5x2 + 2xy 3y 2 ) (4x 3xy + 4y 2 ) = 5x2 + 2xy 3y 2 4x + 3xy 4y 2 = 5x2 + 5xy 4x 7y 2

3. The two polynomials being multiplied are binomials, so one can use FOIL.

(x2 + 3y)(y 2 x) = x2 y 2 x3 + 3y 3 3xy

4. First separate the polynomials and then use the identity of a binomial squared to get

(x + y)3 = (x + y)2 (x + y) = (x2 + 2xy + y 2 )(x + y)

And then multiply the polynomials

(x2 + 2xy + y 2 )(x + y) = x3 + 2x2 y + xy 2 + x2 y + 2xy 2 + y 3 = x3 + 3x2 y + 3xy 2 + y 3

5. The correct answer is C. The first polynomial and second polynomials are degree two polynomials
because they highest power of any term is two. The fourth polynomial is a degree four polynomial
because an x4 term appears. The third polynomial is a degree three polynomial because it has
a single term with the power three, because the sum of the exponents in xy 2 is three.