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Topos Uranos

Summary

This lesson opens the unit on algebraic functions and polynomials. It presents its nine lessons and the thread that connects them, which is factorization: on it depend the roots, the sign, the inequalities, the domains, the asymptotes and the graphs. It then goes through the historical background of these ideas, from the second-degree problems of the Babylonian tablets and the algebra of al-Khwarizmi to the Italian formulas of the sixteenth century, the notation of Viète and Descartes and the concept of function of Euler and Dirichlet; it formulates precisely the two problems that gave rise to them, solving a polynomial equation and describing a function, and shows with an example how factorization solves both at once. It ends by pointing out where these ideas are used in the rest of the course, in other courses on the site and in science and technology.

Learning objectives

  1. Describe the content of each lesson of the unit and explain the role that the factorization of polynomials plays in the whole.
  2. Place the main results of the unit in their historical context, naming their protagonists and the problem each of them was trying to solve.
  3. Formulate the problem of solving a polynomial equation and that of describing an algebraic function, and recognize in an example how a single factorization answers both.
  4. Identify where these ideas reappear in the following units, in other courses and in scientific and technical applications.

Entry assessment

Before working through the unit, it is advisable to measure the starting point. This self-assessment is not graded: the first nine questions cover, one by one, the nine lessons of the unit, and the tenth asks you to set up a concrete situation as a function; the same skills are measured again at the end, in the synthesis lesson. The last three check what the unit takes as known from the unit on number systems. Each wrong answer indicates the lesson on which it is advisable to dwell.

Entry assessment

Before starting the unit, measure your starting point. It is a short self-assessment: it is not graded and its result is stored only in your browser.

  1. Question 1What is the domain of the function f(x)=4−xx−1f(x) = \frac{\sqrt{4 - x}}{x - 1}?

  2. Question 2The function f(x)=(x−1)2+2f(x) = (x - 1)^2 + 2, restricted to [1,∞)\ico{1}{\infty}, is bijective onto [2,∞)\ico{2}{\infty}. What is its inverse?

  3. Question 3For what value of kk is the polynomial x3+kx2+x−6x^3 + k x^2 + x - 6 divisible by x−2x - 2?

  4. Question 4If rr and ss are the roots of 2x2−6x+12x^2 - 6x + 1, what is the value of r2+s2r^2 + s^2?

  5. Question 5Let aa and bb be integers. According to the rational root theorem, which of the following numbers cannot be a root of 3x3+ax2+bx+23x^3 + a x^2 + b x + 2?

  6. Question 6Which numbers AA and BB satisfy 3x+1(x−1)(x+2)=Ax−1+Bx+2\frac{3x + 1}{(x - 1)(x + 2)} = \frac{A}{x - 1} + \frac{B}{x + 2} for every real number other than 11 and −2-2?

  7. Question 7What is the solution set of the inequality (x−1)2(x+3)x−2<0\frac{(x - 1)^2 (x + 3)}{x - 2} < 0?

  8. Question 8What is the oblique asymptote of the graph of f(x)=2x2+3x−1x−1f(x) = \frac{2x^2 + 3x - 1}{x - 1}?

  9. Question 9What is the asymptote of the graph of f(x)=x2+6xf(x) = \sqrt{x^2 + 6x} as xx tends to −∞-\infty?

  10. Question 10A tank contains 5050 liters of water with 44 grams of sugar per liter. From a given instant on, 22 liters per minute of a syrup with 3030 grams of sugar per liter are added to it, without any liquid leaving, and the mixing is immediate. What values does the sugar concentration, in grams per liter, take from that instant on?

  11. Question 11From earlier unitsWhat is the solution set of the inequality ∣2x−3∣<5\abs{2x - 3} < 5?

  12. Question 12From earlier unitsCompute 27−2327^{-\frac{2}{3}}.

  13. Question 13From earlier unitsWhat is the solution set of the inequality x−13−2x+12≥1\frac{x - 1}{3} - \frac{2x + 1}{2} \geq 1?