If pair of polynomials have Greatest Common Factor as 1 ....

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If a pair of polynomials A(x) and B(x) have a Greatest Common Factor (GCF) of 1, they cannot share any common roots. According to the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, polynomials can be expressed as products of linear or irreducible quadratic factors. Therefore, if a value c is a root of A(x), it cannot be a root of B(x) without contradicting the GCF condition. The discussion also highlights the importance of correctly interpreting GCF in relation to polynomial roots.

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swampwiz
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NOTE: presume real coefficients

If a pair of polynomials have the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) as 1, it would seem that any root of one of the pair cannot possibly be a root of the other, and vice-versa, since as per the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, any polynomial can be decomposed into a set of linear (real root) or non-decomposible quadratic factor (complex conjugate root), and so if any value is a real root of one, for it to be a root of the other, the GCF would not be 1 - and likewise for any complex number, as it would only be a root for a specific quadratic factor.

So:

factors: A( x ) , B( x )

A( c ) = 0 & B( c ) = 0 ⇒ GCF( A( c ) , B( c ) ) != 1

GCF( A( c ) , B( c ) ) = 1 ⇒ !∃ c : [ A( c ) = 0 & B( c ) = 0 ] ⇔ no common roots

!E there does not exist

Is this accurate, or am I missing something? Thanks
 
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swampwiz said:
NOTE: presume real coefficients

If a pair of polynomials have the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) as 1, it would seem that any root of one of the pair cannot possibly be a root of the other, and vice-versa, since as per the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, any polynomial can be decomposed into a set of linear (real root) or non-decomposible quadratic factor (complex conjugate root), and so if any value is a real root of one, for it to be a root of the other, the GCF would not be 1 - and likewise for any complex number, as it would only be a root for a specific quadratic factor.

So:

factors: A( x ) , B( x )

A( c ) = 0 & B( c ) = 0 ⇒ GCF( A( c ) , B( c ) ) != 1

GCF( A( c ) , B( c ) ) = 1 ⇒ !∃ c : [ A( c ) = 0 & B( c ) = 0 ] ⇔ no common roots

!E there does not exist

Is this accurate, or am I missing something? Thanks
Usually we speak of a greatest common divisor. In addition I assume you meant ##GCF(A(x),B(x))## instead of ##GCF(A(c),B(c)).##
A common zero ##c \in ℝ## of ##A## and ##B## over the reals implies a common divisor ##(x-c).##
And isn't your second statement equivalent to your first, simply negated? Otherwise you should assume a non-trivial common divisor of ##A## and ##B## and handle the possibility that this could be a real number. And what if ##(x^2+1)## divides both?
 

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