Learning Guide Learning Guide

62 • Chapter 3: Finding Solutions> poly := x^2 + 3*x - 4;poly := x 2 + 3 x − 4> eval(poly, x=2);6> mul_var_poly := y^2*x - 2*y + x^2*y + 1;mul _var_poly := y 2 x − 2 y + y x 2 + 1> eval(mul_var_poly, {y=1,x=-1});−1Coefficients and DegreesThe commands degree and coeff determine the degree of a polynomialand provide a mechanism for extracting coefficients.> poly := 3*z^3 - z^2 + 2*z - 3*z + 1;poly := 3 z 3 − z 2 − z + 1> coeff(poly, z^2);−1> degree(poly,z);3Root Finding and FactorizationThe solve command determines the roots of a polynomial whereas thefactor command expresses the polynomial in fully factored form.> poly1 := x^6 - x^5 - 9*x^4 + x^3 + 20*x^2 + 12*x;poly1 := x 6 − x 5 − 9 x 4 + x 3 + 20 x 2 + 12 x