Draws a polynomial in factored form, allows the user to set the factors and powers of each factor. Questions to investigate:
[list]
[*]How do the factors relate to the appearance of the graph?
[*]What effect does changing the coefficient have?
[*]What about the sign of the leading term and whether or not the degree of the polynomial is odd or even?
[/list]
A "guess the equation" game can be played by one person setting the graph up and then hiding the sliders, and another inspecting the graph and leading term to determine the equation.
