A polynomial is to he constructed that will touch the x axis at most 4 times. What is the minimum degree of the polynomial?
1 answer:
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Answer:
A
Step-by-step explanation:
Recall that for a quadratic equation of the form:
The number of solutions it has can be determined using its discriminant:
Where:
- If the discriminant is positive, we have two real solutions.
- If the discriminant is negative, we have no real solutions.
- And if the discriminant is zero, we have exactly one solution.
We have the equation:
Thus, <em>a</em> = 2, <em>b</em> = 5, and <em>c</em> = -<em>k</em>.
In order for the equation to have exactly one distinct solution, the discriminant must equal zero. Hence:
Substitute:
Solve for <em>k</em>. Simplify:
Solve:
Thus, our answer is indeed A.