• Best of luck to the class of 2024 for their HSC exams. You got this!
    Let us know your thoughts on the HSC exams here
  • YOU can help the next generation of students in the community!
    Share your trial papers and notes on our Notes & Resources page
MedVision ad

Polynomial Equation (1 Viewer)

wagig

Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
152
Gender
Male
HSC
2015
i) Solve
ii) Write this equation in the form of two quadratic factors

:chainsaw:
 

HeroicPandas

Heroic!
Joined
Mar 8, 2012
Messages
1,547
Gender
Male
HSC
2013
Part (i), i can think of 2 methods

Method 1:
It is a series and there are only 2 series u know: arithmetic or geometric

Method 2:
Use this z^n - 1 = (z-1)(1+z+z^2+z^3+...+z^(n-1))

ii) When u solve (i) you know which roots belong to that equation (say A, B, C, D), but to express it in the form of quadratic factors...
u do this z^4 + z^3 + z^2 + z + 1 = (z-A)(z-B)(z-C)(z-D)(z-E) then expand
 
Last edited:

wagig

Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
152
Gender
Male
HSC
2015
What have you tried so far?
My friend solved both parts using the fifth roots of unity:

I.e.
(z^5-1) = (z-1)(z^4+z^3+z^2+z+1)
Then found the 5 roots using de moivre's theorem and just said that 1 is not a solution.

But to me it just seems like something too unrelated, and there's probably a less obscure method of solving it,
any ideas?
 
Last edited:

obliviousninja

(╯°□°)╯━︵ ┻━┻ - - - -
Joined
Apr 7, 2012
Messages
6,624
Location
Sydney Girls
Gender
Female
HSC
2013
Uni Grad
2017


My friend solved both parts using the fifth roots of unity:

I.e.
(z^5-1) = (z-1)(z^4+z^3+z^2+z+1)
Then found the 5 roots using de moivre's theorem and just said that 1 is not a solution.

But to me it just seems like something too unrelated, and there's probably a less obscure method of solving it,
any ideas?
looks about right to me.
 

wagig

Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
152
Gender
Male
HSC
2015
Part (i), i can think of 2 methods

Method 1:
It is a series and there are only 2 series u know: arithmetic or geometric

Method 2:
Use this z^n - 1 = (z-1)(1+z+z^2+z^3+...+z^(n-1))

ii) When u solve (i) you know which roots belong to that equation (say A, B, C, D), but to express it in the form of quadratic factors...
u do this z^4 + z^3 + z^2 + z + 1 = (z-A)(z-B)(z-C)(z-D)(z-E) then expand


Ohhh okay thats cool; i didn't know about the
z^n - 1 = (z-1)(1+z+z^2+z^3+...+z^(n-1)).
Guess that makes what my friend did less of a stretch.
Thanks :cool:
 

SpiralFlex

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2010
Messages
6,960
Gender
Female
HSC
N/A
Its not trolling. It's customary (generally) in math/science forums for people to hide their solutions and give hints to the OP without starving him the opportunity to learn and find the answer themselves.
 

dunjaaa

Active Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
473
Gender
Male
HSC
2014
Part (i) can also be done by dividing by z^2 so you get (z^2+1/z^2) + (z+1/z) + 1 = 0, then using the result z^n+1/z^n=2cos(nƟ) solving for Ɵ and interpreting solutions in terms of cis(Ɵ) by taking into account the principle argument -π≤Ɵ≤π when deciding which angles to select. Well since the polynomial is of degree 4 and real, there should be 2 conjugate pairs of roots.
Part (ii), just like HeroicPanda mentioned, express the roots in linear factors as such (z-A)(z-A(conjugate))(z-B)(z-B(conjugate)) and by expanding you should get a product of 2 quadratic factors. Just a quick tip, when you expand (z-A)(z-A(conjugate)), it becomes z^2-2Re(A)+1. The main purpose for why they make you express in the form of 2 quadratic factors is because its the simplest form in which the polynomial can be factorised over the real field.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top