82 Chapter 4 Complex Numbers

Course Number
Section 4.2 Complex Solutions of Equations
Instructor
Objective: In this lesson you learned how to determine the number of
zeros of polynomial functions, and to find the zeros. Date

I. The Number of Solutions of a Polynomial Equation What you should learn

(Pages 335−336) How to determine the
numbers of solutions of
The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra implies that a polynomial polynomial equations
equation of degree n has precisely n solutions in the
complex number system. These solutions can be . . . real or
complex and may be repeated.

Example 1: How many zeros does the polynomial function

f ( x) = 5 − 2 x 2 + x 3 − 12 x 5 have?
5

You can use a graph to check the number of real

solutions of an equation.

Every second-degree equation, ax 2 + bx + c = 0 , has precisely

two solutions given by the Quadratic Formula. The expression
b2 − 4ac is called the discriminant, and can be used
to determine whether the solutions are real, repeated, or
complex:

1) If the discriminant is less than zero, the equation has

two complex solution(s).

2) If the discriminant is equal to zero, the equation has

one repeated real solution(s).

3) If the discriminant is greater than zero, the equation has

two distinct real solution(s).

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Section 4.2 Complex Solutions of Equations 83

Example 2: Use the discriminant to find the number and type

of solutions of the quadratic equation
x 2 − 2x + 2 = 0 .
Two complex solutions

II. Finding Solutions of Polynomial Equations (Page 337) What you should learn
How to find the solutions
If the complex number a + bi (where b ≠ 0) is a solution of a of polynomial equations
polynomial equation with real coefficients, then we know that
a − bi is another solution of the equation.

Example 3: Find the solutions of the quadratic equation

x 2 − 2x + 2 = 0 .
The solutions are 1 ± i.

III. Finding Zeros of Polynomial Functions (Pages 338−339) What you should learn
How to find the zeros of
The problem of finding the zeros of a polynomial function is polynomial functions
essentially the same as . . . finding the solutions of a
polynomial equation.

The zeros of the polynomial function f ( x) = x 5 − 3 x 2 + 4 are

simply . . . the solutions of the polynomial equation
x5 − 3x2 + 4 = 0.

Example 4: Find all the zeros of the polynomial function

f ( x) = x 4 + 5 x 2 − 36 , given that 3i is a zero of f.
Zeros: − 2, 2, − 3i, 3i

Example 5: Find a fourth-degree polynomial function with real

coefficients that has − 5, 5, and − 2i as zeros.

f (x) = x4 − 21x2 − 100

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84 Chapter 4 Complex Numbers

Additional notes

y y y

x x x

y y y

x x x

Homework Assignment

Page(s)

Exercises

Larson/Hostetler Trigonometry, Sixth Edition Student Success Organizer IAE

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