Question

Without plotting any points other than intercepts, draw a possible graph of the following polynomial:

f(x) = (x + 8)3(x + 6)2(x + 2)(x − 1)3(x − 3)4(x − 6).

Answer 1

The first thing to do is find the x-intercepts of the function so that you can plot them. Set the function f(x) to zero and find the values of x.

0 = (x + 8)3(x + 6)2(x + 2)(x − 1)3(x − 3)4(x − 6)
There are 6 intercepts:
x+8=0 ---> x= -8
x+6=0 ---> x=-6
x+2=0 ---> x=-2
x-1=0 ---> x=1
x-3=0 ---> x=3
x-6=0 ---> x=6

The 6 intercepts are plotted as shown in the picture. The tool I used was Microsoft Excel. This is one possible sketch of the graph. The trend could move in any ways as long as it passes these 6 intercepts.