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Can you answer this please?

Can you answer this please?-example-1
User Just
by
5.3k points

1 Answer

1 vote

Answer:

(b) 0, ±1/3, ±1, ±7/3, ±7

Explanation:

You want the potential rational roots of the polynomial 3x^5 -2x^2 +7x.

Rational root theorem

The rational root theorem tells you potential rational roots will have a numerator that is a divisor of the polynomial's constant term, and a denominator that is a divisor of the leading coefficient.

The given polynomial can be factored as ...

x(3x^4 -2x +7)

so any rational roots will be in the set ...

{0, ±(divisor of 7)/(divisor of 3)} = {0, ±1/3, ±1, ±7/3, ±7}

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Additional comment

A graph of the polynomial shows it to be monotonic, with a real zero only at x=0. This roller coaster, while steep, wouldn't have any valleys.

The question asks only for x-intercepts. The answer choices are what suggest that rational x-intercepts are the ones of interest.

Can you answer this please?-example-1
User ErikE
by
5.1k points
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