Journal of the Mathematics Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association
Volume 44 Issue 2, June 2007
29 – 30
A Refined Algorithm for Solving Polynomial Equations
Duncan E McDougall and Ryan Willoughby
The following article describes a sequence of steps designed to reduce to a minimum the number of eligible factors when solving analytically polynomial functions with integral roots and coefficients. Our objective is to 1i st all possible factors and then select only those factors that satisfy certain criteria. This is done by incorporating Descartes’ Rule of Signs and the factors of the sum of the numerical coefficients of the given polynomial.
