MHB How to Find the Zeros Using the Rational Roots Theorem?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around finding the zeros of the polynomial 4x^5-10x^4-14x^3+49x^2-28x+4 using the Rational Roots Theorem. The user successfully identified positive zeros 2 and 1/2 through synthetic division but struggled with subsequent steps. After further division, the polynomial was factored into (x-2)(2x-1)(2x^2+4x-1), leading to the discovery of additional roots using the quadratic formula. The conversation highlights the importance of correctly inputting answers in online homework systems, as formatting can affect the acceptance of solutions.
Elissa89
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I can't find the zeros to

$$4x^5-10x^4-14x^3+49x^2-28x+4$$

I found my positive zeros, 2, 1/2 using synthetic division and possible zeros. But from there I'm stuck.
 
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Elissa89 said:
I can't find the zeros to

$$4x^5-10x^4-14x^3+49x^2-28x+4$$

I found my positive zeros, 2, 1/2 using synthetic division and possible zeros. But from there I'm stuck.

Hi Elissa89! Welcome to MHB! ;)

Which polynomial did you find after dividing out (x-2) and (x-1/2)?
Does it still have rational roots?
We should find a 2nd order polynomial with no rational roots, which we can solve to find the remaining irrational roots.
 
Hello and welcome to MHB, Elissa! (Wave)

You say 2 and 1/2 are zeroes of the given polynomial...so let's use synthetic division to see what we get...

First 2:

$$\begin{array}{c|rr}& 4 & -10 & -14 & 49 & -28 & 4 \\ 2 & & 8 & -4 & -36 & 26 & -4 \\ \hline & 4 & -2 & -18 & 13 & -2 & 0 \end{array}$$

Next 1/2:

$$\begin{array}{c|rr}& 4 & -2 & -18 & 13 & -2 \\ \frac{1}{2} & & 2 & 0 & -9 & 2 \\ \hline & 4 & 0 & -18 & 4 &0\end{array}$$

What is your factorization so far?
 
Ok, so from what you did, I divided further and got 4x^2+8x-2, which I applied the quadratic formula and got -2 +/- sqrt{6} all over 2. That's the same answer I've been getting but my homework is done in a program and it keeps telling me it's wrong.

Sorry, I don't know how to use some of the symbol/commands.
 
Okay, what I have after doing the divisions indicated in my post above is:

$$f(x)=4x^5-10x^4-14x^3+49x^2-28x+4=(x-2)\left(x-\frac{1}{2}\right)\left(4x^3-18x+4\right)$$

Now, let's factor a 2 from the cubic factor and multiply it with the second linear factor to get:

$$f(x)=(x-2)(2x-1)\left(2x^3-9x+2\right)$$

Now, we see that 2 is a zero of the cubic factor, so we apply synthetic division again:

$$\begin{array}{c|rr}& 2 & 0 & -9 & 2 \\ 2 & & 4 & 8 & -2 \\ \hline & 2 & 4 & -1 & 0 \end{array}$$

And now we have:

$$f(x)=(x-2)^2(2x-1)\left(2x^2+4x-1\right)$$

Can you post your work so we can see why our quadratic factors differ?
 
I don't know how to show it on here but I'll do the best I can.

So we have 4x^3-18x+4/ (x-2)

In synthetic division I used 4 0 -18 4 to divide by 2. I got 4x^2+8x-2 with remainder of 0. I applied the quadratic formula to 4x^2+8x-2 and got the answer -2 +/- sqrt{6} all over 2
 
Elissa89 said:
I don't know how to show it on here but I'll do the best I can.

That's fine, we don't expect our users to be $\LaTeX$ experts right away. :)

Elissa89 said:
So we have 4x^3-18x+4/ (x-2)

In synthetic division I used 4 0 -18 4 to divide by 2. I got 4x^2+8x-2 with remainder of 0. I applied the quadratic formula to 4x^2+8x-2 and got the answer -2 +/- sqrt{6} all over 2

Sorry, somehow I missed that our quadratic differed only by a constant factor...so you did perform the division correctly. Applying the quadratic formula to my quadratic factor, I ultimately get:

$$x=\frac{-2\pm\sqrt{6}}{2}$$

And this is the same as you found.

Sometimes these online homework apps can be pretty picky about how the answers are input. If I were going to list the 5 roots of the given quintic polynomial using plain text, I would give:

2
2
1/2
(-2 + sqrt(6))/2
(-2 - sqrt(6))/2
 
Well at least I know I did it right, thanks!
 
Elissa89 said:
Well at least I know I did it right, thanks!

It's possible the app may want the roots in this form:

2
2
1/2
-1 + sqrt(1.5)
-1 - sqrt(1.5)

Or it may want decimal approximations for the irrational roots:

2
2
0.5
0.22474
2.2247

Are there any instructions provided on how to input the roots?
 
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