MATHEMATICS

UNIT 2 – MONOMIALS, POLYNOMIALS AND ALGEBRAIC FRACTIONS

2.1 MONOMIALS

Monomial is a product of two or some factors, each of them is either a number, or a letter, or
a power of a letter. For example, 3 a 2 b 4, b d 3, – 17 a b c are monomials. A single number or a
single letter may be also considered as a monomial. Any factor of a monomial may be called a
coefficient. Often only a numerical factor is called a coefficient. Monomials are called similar or
like ones, if they are identical or differed only by coefficients. Therefore, if two or some
monomials have identical letters or their powers, they are also similar (like) ones. Degree of
monomial is a sum of exponents of the powers of all its letters.

Addition (and subtraction) of monomial: If among a sum of monomials there are similar ones,
he sum can be reduced to the more simple form:

Example: a x 3 y 2 – 5 b 3 x 3 y 2 + c 5 x 3 y 2 = (a – 5 b 3 + c 5) x 3 y 2.

This operation is called reducing of like terms. Operation, done here, is called also taking out of
brackets.

Multiplication of monomials: A product of some monomials can be simplified, only if it has

powers of the same letters or numerical coefficients. In this case exponents of the powers are
added and numerical coefficients are multiplied.

E x a m p l e: 5 a x 3 z 8 (– 7 a 3 x 3 y 2) = – 35 a 4 x 6 y 2 z 8.

Division of monomials: A quotient of two monomials can be simplified, if a dividend and a

divisor have some powers of the same letters or numerical coefficients. In this case an
exponent of the power in a divisor is subtracted from an exponent of the power in a dividend;
a numerical coefficient of a dividend is divided by a numerical coefficient of a divisor.

E x a m p l e: (35 a 4 x 3 z 9) : (7 a x 2 z 6)= 5 a 3 x z 3 .

2.2 POLYNOMIALS

A polynomial is an algebraic sum of monomials, and the degree of a polynomial is the most of
degrees of monomials, forming this polynomial.
Polynomial comes from poly- (meaning "many") and -nomial (meaning "term"), so it says
"many terms"; a polynomial looks like this example that has three terms: 4 +3 −5

A polynomial can have: constants (like 3, -20, or ½), variables (like x and y) and exponents (like
the 2 in y2) but only 0, 1, 2, 3, ... etc. That can be combined using addition (+), subtraction (-),
multiplication (x)… but not division! (In this last case, we have an algebraic fraction).

Polynomial or Not?

These are polynomials: 3x; x – 2; -6y2 - (7/9)x; 3xyz + 3xy2z - 0.1xz - 200y + 0.5; 512v5+ 99w5; 1
(Yes, even "1" is a polynomial, it has one term which just happens to be a constant).

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And these are not polynomials

 2/(x+2) is not, because dividing is not allowed

 1/x is not
 3xy-2 is not, because the exponent is "-2" (exponents can only be 0,1,2,...)
 √x is not, because the exponent is "½"

But these are allowed:

 x/2 is allowed, because it is also (½)x (the constant is ½, or 0.5)

 also 3x/8 for the same reason (the constant is 3/8, or 0.375)
 √2 is allowed, because it is a constant (= 1.4142...etc)

Monomial, Binomial, Trinomial

There are special names for polynomials with 1, 2 or 3 terms (There is also quadrinomial (4
terms) and quintinomial (5 terms , but those names are not often used):

3xy2 (Monomial); 5x – 1 (Binomial); 3x + 5y2 – 3 (Trinomial)

Polynomials can have as many terms as needed, but not an infinite number of terms.

What is Special About Polynomials?

Because of the strict definition, polynomials are easy to work with; for example we know that:

 If you add polynomials you get a polynomial

 If you multiply polynomials you get a polynomial

So you can do lots of additions and multiplications, and still have a polynomial as the result.
Also, polynomials of one variable are easy to graph, as they have smooth and continuous lines.

Example: x4-2x2+x

See how nice and

smooth the curve is?

Degree

The degree of a polynomial with only one variable is the largest exponent of that variable.
Example: Here, the degree is 3 (the largest exponent of x)

Standard Form

The Standard Form for writing a polynomial is to put the terms with the highest degree first.

For example, put this polynomial in Standard Form: 3x2 - 7 + 4x3 + x6

The highest degree is 6, so that goes first, then 3, 2 and then the constant last: x6 + 4x3 + 3x2 - 7
You don't have to use Standard Form, but it helps.

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Adding and Subtracting Polynomials

To add polynomials you simply add any like terms together … so what is a like term?
Like Terms are terms whose variables (and their exponents such as the 2 in x2) are the same;
In other words, terms that are "like" each other. Note that the coefficients (the numbers you
multiply by, such as "5" in 5x) can be different.

Example: 7x, x and -2x are all like terms because the variables are all x.
Example: (1/3)xy2, -2xy2 and 6xy2 are all like terms because the variables are all xy2.

Adding Polynomials

We make two steps:

 Place like terms together

 Add the like terms

Example: Add 2x2 + 6x + 5 and 3x2 - 2x – 1

Start with: 2x2 + 6x + 5 + 3x2 - 2x – 1

Place like terms together: 2x2 + 3x2 + 6x - 2x + 5 – 1
Add the like terms: (2+3)x2 + (6-2)x + (5-1) = 5x2 + 4x + 4

You could also add them in columns, as we are going to learn in the next part.

Adding Several Polynomials

You can add several polynomials together like that.

Example: Add (2x2 + 6y + 3xy), (3x2 - 5xy - x) and (6xy + 5)

Line them up in columns and add:

2x2 + 6y + 3xy
3x2 - 5xy - x
6xy + 5
5x2 + 6y + 4xy - x + 5

Using columns helps you to match the correct terms together in a complicated sum.

Subtracting Polynomials

To subtract polynomials, first reverse the sign of each term you are subtracting (in other
words turn "+" into "-", and "-" into "+"), then add as usual. Check this example:

5y2 + 2xy – 9 – (2y2 + 2xy – 3) = 5y2 + 2xy – 9 – 2y2 – 2xy + 3 = (5 – 2)y2 + (2 – 2)xy + (-9 + 3) =
= 3y2 – 6

Note: After subtracting 2xy from 2xy we ended up with 0, so there is no need to mention the
"xy" term any more.

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Multiplying Polynomials

To multiply two polynomials:

 multiply each term in one polynomial by each term in the other polynomial.
 add those answers together, and simplify if needed.

Let us look at the simplest cases first

a) 1 term × 1 term (monomial times monomial)

To multiply one term by another term, first multiply the constants, then multiply each
variable together and combine the result, like this: (2xy)(4y) = 2 · 4 · xy · y = 8xy2
(Note: I used "·" to mean multiply. In Algebra we don't like to use "×" because it looks
too much like the letter "x")
Don’t forget the properties of exponentiation when multiplying variables with
exponents.

b) 1 term x 2 terms (monomial times binomial)

Multiply the single term by each of the two terms, like this:
2x(x + 3xy) = 2x · x + 2x · 3xy = 2x2 + 6x2y

c) 2 term × 1 terms (binomial times monomial)

Multiply each of the two terms by the single term, like this:
(x2 – x)3y = x2 · 3y – x · 3y = 3x2y – 3xy

d) 2 terms × 2 terms (binomial times binomial)

Each of the two terms in the first binomial is multiplied by each of the two terms in the
second binomial, so that we have 4 different multiplications.
You can multiply them in any order so long as each of the first two terms gets
multiplied by each of the second two terms.
But there is a handy way to help you remember to multiply each term called "FOIL"
that stands for "Firsts, Outers, Inners, Lasts":
 Firsts: ac
 Outers: ad
 Inners: bc
 Lasts: bd
So you multiply the "Firsts" (the first terms of both polynomials), then the "Outers, …

e) 2 terms × 3 terms (binomial times trinomial)

"FOIL" won't work here, because there are more terms now. But just remember:
Multiply each term in the first polynomial by each term in the second polynomial.

Example: (x + 2y)(3x – 4y + 5) =(x + 2y)(3x – 4y + 5) = 3x2 – 4xy + 5x + 6xy – 8y2 + 10y =

= 3x2 + 2xy + 5x – 8y2 + 10y

Remember: You have to add always like terms (in this example, I added -4xy and 6xy
because they are Like Terms), and realize that 6yx means the same thing as 6xy.

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Polynomials - Long Multiplication

You can multiply small polynomials using the method shown on Multiplying Polynomials
But when the polynomials have 3 or more terms it is often easier (and you are less likely to
make a mistake) when you use a method similar to Long Multiplication for Numbers.

The Method

Choose one polynomial (the longest is a good choice) and then:

 multiply it by the first term of the other polynomial, writing the result down
 then multiply it by the second term of the other polynomial, writing the result under
the matching terms from the first multiplication
 then multiply it by the third term of the other polynomial (if any) etc ...
 lastly, add up the columns.

Laying the work out neatly in columns is the key, like this: (5x3 – 2x + 9)(2x3 – x2 + 1)

5x3 -2x 9
2x3 2
-x 1
5x3 -2x 9
-5x5 2x3 -9x2
10x6 -4x4 18x3
10x6 -5x 5
-4x4 25x3 -9x2 -2x 9

More than One Variable

So far we have been multiplying polynomials with only one variable (x), but how do you handle
polynomials with two or more variables (such as x and y)? What are the column headings?

The only method I know is to ignore the columns in the question, write down the answers as
they come, always checking to see if you could put your answer under a matching answer:
(x2 + 2xz + z)(x + z) = x3 + x2z + 2x2z + 2xz2 + xz + z2

x2 + 2xz +z
x +z
x2z 2xz2 z2
3
x xz 2x2z
x3 xz 3x2z 2xz2 z2

Binomial expansion and Pascal’s triangle (Tartaglia’s triangle):

Using the Pascal’s triangle, we can solve these binomial expansions:

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For the first row: (x + y)0 = 1
For the second row: (x + y)1 = x + y (x – y)1 = x – y
For the third row: (x + y)2 = x2 + 2xy + y2 (x – y)2 = x2 – 2xy + y2
For the fourth row: (x + y)3 = x3 + 3x2y + 3xy2 + y3 (x – y)3 = x3 – 3x2y + 3xy2 – y3
And on…..

We also have other expressions like these ones:

( a + b ) ( a – b ) = a² – b²
( a + b )( a² – ab + b² ) = a³ + b³ ,
( a – b )( a ² + ab + b² ) = a³ – b³ .

Dividing

Sometimes it is easy to divide a polynomial by splitting it at the "+" and "-" signs, like this:

6 −3 6 3
= − =2 −1
3 3 3

When I split the polynomial into two parts, I still had to keep the "/3" under each one, and
then the split fractions are "reduced" (6/3 = 2 and 3/3 = 1) to leave the answer of 2x-1

Here is another, slightly more complicated:

9 + 12 + 1 9 12 1 1
= + + =3 +4+
3 3 3 3 3

 The 1st Term had x2 above and x below, which together becomes just x
 The 2nd Term had x above and below, so they canceled each other out
 We couldn't simplify "1/3x" any further.

Now, sometimes it helps to rearrange the top polynomial before dividing, as in this example:

2 + 2 2 ( + 1)
= =2
+1 +1

If none of those methods work, you may need to use Polynomial Long Division.

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 Polynomials - Long Division

The Method

In English speaking countries, the method follows this notation:

 the denominator goes first,

 then a ")",
 then the numerator with a line above

But we are going to use the Spanish notation to simplify!

In both notations, both polynomials should have the "higher order" terms first (those with the
largest exponents, like the "2" in x2).

Then you have to put in practice the method:

 Divide the first term of the numerator by the first term of the denominator, and put
that in the answer.
 Multiply the denominator by that answer, put that below the numerator.
 Subtract to create a new polynomial and repeat the method using this new
polynomial.

You must take account that we are going to have several polynomials, such as

P(x): Dividend Q(x): Divisor C(x): Quotient R(x): Remainder

Watch out! The degree of the remainder R(x) has to be smaller than the degree of the divisor
Q(x).

To check that the division of polynomials is right, it is proved that:

( ) ( )
P(x) = Q(x)· C(x) + R(x)  = ( )+
( ) ( )

It is easier to show with an example like this:

Write it down neatly like below, then solve it step-by-step:

x2 – 3x – 10 ∟x+2 P(x) = x2 – 3x – 10
-x2 – 2x x–5 Q(x) = x + 2
0 –5 x – 10 C(x) = x – 5
5x + 10 R(x) = 0
0 0

To check your answer:

( ) ( )+ ( ) = ( − 5)( + 2) = + 2 − 5 − 10 = − 3 − 10 = ( )

But most times, there will be missing terms in the dividend and/or divisor polynomials, and the
remainder polynomial won’t be zero.

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For instance:

2x4 0x3 2x2 6x -9 ∟x3 + 3

-2x4 -6x 2x
0 2x2 0 -9

To check:

( ) ( )+ ( ) = (2 )( + 3) + (2 − 9) = 2 + 2 +6 + −9= ( )

And in the same way we have:

( ) ( ) (2 − 9)
= ( )+ = ( + 3) +
( ) ( ) (2 )

Polynomials – Ruffini’s Rule

The Ruffini’s Rule is used to divide a polynomial by (x – a), so in this case Q(x) = x – a

We are going to check it using the same example:

a) Using the general method:

7x4 -11x3 0x2 -94x +7 ∟x–3

-7x4 21x3 7x3 + 10x2 + 30x – 4
0 10x3 -94x +7
-10x3 +30x2
0 +30x2 -94x +7
-30x2 90x
0 -4x +7
4x -12
0 -5

b) Using Ruffini’s Rule:

| 7 -11 0 -94 7
|
|
| a d
|
3 |b c 21 30 90 -12
_____ |_____________e___________________f__
| 7 10 30 -4 ∟-5

In both cases: P(x) = 7x4- 11x3-94x+7 Q(x) = x – 3

C(x) = 7x3 + 10x2 + 30x – 4 R(x) = -5

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The steps followed in Ruffini’s Rule are the following ones:

a) Carry down the coefficient of the first term (the one with the highest
exponent).
b) Multiply the first term by the constant term of the divisor.
c) Set the result of step “b” just down the second coefficient.
d) Add the result of step “c” to the second coefficient.
e) Write the result, and multiply it by the constant of the divisor.
f) Go on until you find the remainder.

Uses of Ruffini’s Rule

1) Divisibility by (x – a)

A division of a polynomial by a binomial (x – a) is exact if the remainder R(x) = 0.

The possible values of a that make this division exact are the divisors of the constant term
of the dividend polynomial P(X).

Example: Which values of a from the binomial (x – a) make an exact division with the
dividend − 3 + 2?

Possible values of “a”: ±1, ±2

| 1 -3 2
|
1 | 1 -2
_____ |_____________________
| 1 -2 ∟0

| 1 -3 2
|
-1 | -1 4
_____ |_____________________
| 1 -4 ∟6

| 1 -3 2
|
2 | 2 -2
_____ |_____________________
| 1 -1 ∟0

| 1 -3 2
|
-2 | -2 10
_____ |_____________________
| 1 -5 ∟12

So if a = 1 or a = 2, the division is exact.

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 2) Value of a polynomial for x = a

If we want to find the value of a polynomial for x = a, we have to place the value of a
instead of x (Just substitute x by the value of a) and we find the value of P(x) for x = a.

( )= − 3 + 2  If x = 3  P (3) = 32 – 3 · 3 + 2 = 9 – 9 + 2 = 2

We can find the value of a polynomial for x = a if we put in practice Ruffini’s Rule and find
the value of the remainder; if you find the value of the remainder, you have just found the
value of P(x) for x = a.

Example:

| 1 -3 2
|
3 | 3 0
_____ |_____________________
| 1 0 ∟2

So for a = 3, the remainder equals two, and this means that the value of the polynomial
when a = 3 is two  P (3) = 2.

3) Factorizing polynomials

To factorize polynomials, you only need to use Ruffini’s Rule and find the values of a that
make the remainder zero; Using the previous example, if we know that if a = 1 and a = 2,
the division is exact and we can write that − 3 + 2 = ( − 1)( − 2).

This also means that the value of the polynomial for x = a is zero  P(1) = P(2) = 0

If we want to factorize a polynomial with a high degree, we have to put in practice Ruffini’s
Rule several times in a row.

For instance, if we want to factorize P(x) = x3 – 7x2 + 8x + 16

| 1 -7 8 16
|
-1 | -1 8 -16
______|_________________________________
| 1 -8 16 ∟0
|
4 | 4 -16
______|___________________________
| 1 -4 ∟0
|
4 | 4
______ |___________________
| 1 ∟0

So that x3 – 7x2 + 8x + 16 = (x – [-1])(x – 4)(x – 4) = (x + 1)(x – 4)2

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Sometimes, you will need to stop when you get a polynomial of degree two, because:

±√
a) You can find the remaining roots using the formula = , and the
roots (or solutions) are real numbers.

b) The polynomial of degree two has no real roots or solutions.

For instance, if we want to factorize P(x) = 10x4 – 3x3 – 41x2 + 12x + 4

| 10 -3 -41 12 4
|
2 | 20 34 -14 -4
______|___________________________________
| 10 17 -7 -2 ∟0
|
-2 | -20 6 2
______|___________________________
| 10 -3 -1 ∟0

So we have  P(x) = (x – 2)(x – [-2])(10x2 – 3x – 1) = (x – 2)(x + 2)(10x2 – 3x – 1)

Now we have to find the roots or solutions of the polynomial 10x 2 – 3x – 1; so we equal
this polynomial to zero  10x2 – 3x – 1 = 0.

±√
And using the formula = , we find that = and = , so finally
1 1
( ) = ( − 2)( + 2)(10 − 3 − 1) = ( − 2)( + 2) − +
2 5

Divisibility of polynomials

( )
A polynomial D(x) is a divisor of another one P(x) if ( )
= ( ) is an exact division, and
that means that P(x) is a multiple of D(x), because ( ) = ( ) ( ).

If a polynomial P(x) isn’t divisible by any polynomial of lower degree, this means that the
polynomial P(x) is irreducible.

You can easily check if a polynomial is irreducible by doing Ruffini’s Rule to the polynomial
and factorizing it; so that if you can’t find real roots of the polynomial, it is irreducible.

As you can see, irreducible polynomials are very similar to prime numbers in numerical
divisibility; in the same way, we can find the lowest common multiple and the highest
common factor of two or more polynomials, similarly to the case of numbers.

For instance, if P(x) = x2(x – 2)(x2 + 1) and Q (x) = x(x – 2)3(x – 8)

Highest common factor [P(x), Q(x)] = x(x – 2)

Lowest common multiple [P(x), Q(x)] = x2 (x – 2)3(x2 + 1)(x – 8)

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 Algebraic fractions

( )
A fraction involving two polynomials is known as an algebraic fraction: ( )

For instance: , ,

If we want to simplify an algebraic fraction, we must divide both numerator and

denominator by the same polynomial (whose degree will be equal or greater than one);
and if we want to get an irreducible algebraic fraction, we must divide both numerator
and denominator by their highest common factor.

( )
For instance, if we want to get the irreducible fraction of = :
( )

a) We must find the highest common factor of ( ) = − 4 and ( ) =

by factorizing ( ) = = ( )= − 4 = ( − 4), so the
highest common factor of these polynomials is .

b) And later, we must divide both ( ) = − 4 and ( )= by , so

÷( )
we have ( ) ÷( )
= , and this fraction is irreducible.

About equivalent fractions, we can say that two algebraic fractions are equivalent if when
simplifying, both get the same irreducible fraction.

For instance, if we want to know if and are equivalent, we must factorize and
simplifying them, so = ( )
= and = , so they are equivalent.

If we want to get the common denominator of two or more fractions, we have to find the
highest common factor of both denominators, and write equivalent fractions to the
previous ones.

For instance, if we want to write and with the same denominator, we must find
the lowest common multiple of both denominators, having that + 1 = + 1 and
− 1 = ( − 1)( + 1) and therefore the lowest common multiple is − 1. (If you
have problems with the common denominator, please review it by yourself).

( )
So these fractions with common denominator are expressed as and .

We need to get the common denominator of two or more fractions to add and subtract
algebraic fractions; for instance, if we want to add the fractions in the previous example:

( ) –
+ = + = =

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To multiply algebraic fractions, just multiply all the numerators between them, and also
do the same operation with the denominators.

For instance, × = ( )( )
= =

To divide algebraic fractions, just multiply the first fraction by the second fraction
inverted.

( ) ( )( ) ( )
For instance, ÷ = ( )
= ( )
=

Don’t forget to simplify the fraction if possible!

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