When you have a polynomial function, it can be difficult to find all of the real solutions without a graphing tool. Yet there are many situations where this is a necessary function. This applet will assist in learning a method to do this. Needed skills: [list=1] [*]the ability to find all the factors of an integer [*]identify the leading coefficient of a polynomial function [*]identify the constant term of a polynomial function [*]factor each of these values and create a ratio as shown [/list] As this method requires the leading coefficient and the constant term to be integers, it may be necessary to modify your polynomial function to allow this to be the case.
This applet can be used by teachers in a demonstration mode in the classroom or teachers can have students load it on their own computers as a worksheet to be completed for a grade.