Question

What are all of the real roots of the following polynomial? f(x) = x4 - x3 - 13x2 + x + 12

Answer 1

We can find roots by setting f(x) = 0 --> x^4 - x^3 - 13x^2 + x + 12 = 0.

Factoring f(x) to make things easier for us gives us (x - 1)(x + 1)(x - 4)(x + 3), which, equal to 0, gives us the ability to set each set of parentheses = 0.

x - 1 = 0 gives us x = 1.

x + 1 = 0 --> x = -1.

x - 4 = 0 --> x = 4.

x + 3 = 0 --> x = -3.

our roots are x = 1, -1, 4, and -3.