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Sunday, November 23, 2014

Sketching the Graph of a Polynomial, 3

Category: Analytic Geometry

"Published in Vacaville, California, USA

Sketch the graph of a polynomial:


Solution:

Consider the given equation above 


Since the given equation, is already factored, then we can get the x-intercepts by setting y = 0. The x-intercepts are 1 and 3.  

If we set x = 0, the y-intercept of the given equation is 




Since we now the x-intercepts, then we can sketch the location or direction of a curve as follows

If x < 0, then y = (-)²(-) = (-)
If 0 < x < 1, then y = (-)²(-) = (-)
If 1 < x < 3, then y = (+)²(-) = (-)
If x > 3, then y = (+)²(+) = (+)

Here's the graph of a polynomial:

Photo by Math Principles in Everyday Life