Let’s revise the basic concepts of Mathematics today, which we have already learnt in previous classes.

Though theory here may seem easy but some very nice problems of Olympiads level can be
Directly associated with these basic facts.

NUMBER THEORY
(Mathematics says, All numbers are interesting. Can you Prove it?)

1. NUMBER SYSTEM
Natural Numbers : (Set Notation)(N) = {1, 2, 3....}
Whole Numbers : (Set Notation) (W) = {0, 1, 2, 3.....}
Integers : (Set Notation) (I) = {–,........–3, –2, –1, 0, 1, 2, 3.....}
Positive Integers : (Set Notation) (I+) = {1, 2, 3 ... }
(I–) = {–, .... –3, –2, –1}
Negative Integers : (Set Notation)
Non-negative Integers : {0, 1, 2, 3........}
Non-positive Integers : {–, .... –3, –2, –1, 0}
Even Integers = {....–6, –4, –2, 0, 2, 4, 6 ...}
Odd Integers = {–5, –3, –1, 1, 3, 5 ......}
Basic Facts :
(i) Zero is neither positive nor negative. (ii) Zero is even number
(iii) Positive means > 0 (iv) Non-negative means  0

2. RATIONAL NUMBERS (Q)

All the numbers that can be represented in the form p/q, where p and q are integers and
q 0, are called rational numbers. Integers, Fractions, Terminating decimal numbers, Non-
terminating but repeating decimal numbers are all rational numbers.
Note :
(i) Integers are rational numbers, but converse need not be true.
(ii) A rational number always exists between two distinct rational numbers, hence infinite
rational numbers exist

1
3. IRRATIONAL NUMBERS (QC)
There are real numbers which can not be expressed in p/q form. Non-Terminating non
repeating decimal numbers are irrational number e.g. .
e 2.71 is called Napier's constant and 3.14
Note :
(i) Sum of a rational number and an irrational number is an irrational number
(ii) If a Q and b Q, then ab = rational number, only if a = 0.
(iii) Sum, difference, product and quotient of two irrational numbers is not necessarily an
Irrational Number or we can say, result may be a rational number also.
(iv) The number of irrational numbers is more than the number of rational numbers. (In
terms of density). That , we ll try to prove later in course.

4. REAL NUMBERS (R)

The complete set of rational and irrational number is the set of real numbers, R = Q QC .
The real numbers can be represented as a position of a point on the real number line.

5. COMPLEX NUMBERS. (C)

A number of the form a + ib, where a, b R and i  1 is called a complex number. Complex
Number is usually denoted by z and the set of all complex numbers is represented by
 
C   x  iy  : x, y  R, i  1
Note : It may be noted that N  W  I  Q  R  C

Only those who know about Complex numbers, will get this one!!

6. CONJUGATE OF A COMPLEX NUMBER

If z  a  ib , where a, b R, be a complex number then its conjugate complex number is
represented by z and z  a  ib

7. ALGEBRAIC NUMBERS
An algebraic number is any complex number that is a root of a non-zero polynomial in one
variable with rational coefficients (or equivalently – by clearing denominators – with integer
coefficients). All integers and rational numbers are algebraic, as are all roots of integers

2
8. TRANSCENDENTAL NUMBERS
A transcendental number is a real or complex number that is not algebraic—that is, it is not a
root of a non-zero polynomial equation with integer (or, equivalently, rational) coefficients e.g.
π, e.

9. EVEN NUMBERS
Numbers divisible by 2, last digit 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 & represented by 2n.

10. ODD NUMBERS

Not divisible by 2, last digit 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 represented by (2n ± 1)
(a) even ± even = even
(b) even ± odd = odd
(c) odd ± odd = even
(d) even × any number = even number
(e) odd × odd = odd

11. PRIME NUMBERS

(CAN YOU PROVE THAT THERE ARE INFINTE PRIME NUMBERS?)
Let 'p' be a natural number, 'p' is said to be prime if it has exactly two distinct positive integral
factors, namely 1 and itself. e.g. 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31 .....

12. COMPOSITE NUMBERS

A number that has more than two divisors
Note :
(i) '1' is neither prime nor composite.
(ii) '2' is the only even prime number.
(iii) '4' is the smallest composite number.
(iv) Natural numbers which are not prime are composite numbers (except 1)

13. CO-PRIME NUMBERS/ RELATIVELY PRIME NUMBERS

Two natural numbers (not necessarily prime) are coprime, if their H.C.F. is one e.g. (1, 2), (1, 3),
(3, 4) (5, 6) etc.
Note :
(i) Two prime number(s) are always co-prime but converse need not be true.
(ii) Consecutive natural numbers are always co-prime numbers.

14. TWIN PRIME NUMBERS

If the difference between two prime numbers is TWO, then the numbers are twin prime
numbers.
e.g. {3, 5}, {5, 7}, {11, 13} etc. There are infinite twin primes also.

3
15. COUSIN PRIMES
If the difference between two prime numbers is FOUR, then the numbers are twin prime
numbers.
e.g. {3, 7}, {7, 11}, {13, 17} etc.

16. DIVISIBILITY RULES

(i) A number will be divisible by 2 iff the digit at the unit place is divisible by 2.
(ii) A number will be divisible by 3 iff the sum of all its digits is divisible by 3.
(iii) A number will be divisible by 4 iff last two digits of the number together are divisible by
4.
(iv) A number will be divisible by 5 iff digit at the unit place is either 0 or 5.
(v) A number will be divisible by 6 iff its even and sum of all digits is divisible by 3
(vi) A number will be divisible by 8 iff the last 3 digits, all together, is divisible by 8.
(vii) A number will be divisible by 9 iff sum of all it's digits is divisible by 9.
(viii) A number will be divisible by 10 iff it's last digit is 0.
(ix) A number will be divisible by 11 iff the difference between the sum of the digits at even
places and sum of the digits at odd places is a multiple of 11.
e.g. 1298, 1221, 123321, 12344321, 1234554321, 123456654321, 795432

17. LCM AND HCF

(a) HCF is the highest common factor between any two or more numbers or algebraic
expressions. When dealing only with numbers, it is also called "Greatest common
divisor" (GCD).
(b) LCM is the lowest common multiple of two or more numbers or algebraic expressions.
(c) The product of HCF and LCM of two numbers (or expressions) is equal to the
Product of the numbers.
(d) LCM of fractions = LCM of numerators/HCF of denominators HCF of fractions = HCF of
numerators/LCM of denominators

Lets see this using example of 2/9 and 8/21.

LCM of 9 and 21 = 63,

Now multiply first fraction by 63/9 = 7
Multiply second fraction by 63/21 = 3
So now first fractions is (2 × 7)/(9 × 7) = 14/63
and second fraction is (8 × 3)/(21 × 3) = 24/63
Now since both denominators are same, LCM of numerators 14 and 24 = 168.
Hence LCM of 2/9 and 6/21 is (168/63)
After simplification 168/63 = 8/3

Using the method explained in point (d),

LCM of Numerators = LCM of 2 and 8= 8
HCF of Denominators = HCF of 9 and 21 = 3
4
 So, LCM of Rational Numbers 2/9 and 8/21 must be 8/3.

Now lets check if our answer (8/3) is correct or not by dividing this by 2/9 and 8/21.
(8/3) / (2/9) = 12
(8/3) / (8/21) = 7
You can see that this is fully divisible by both fractions.

ICE 1

EASY:
1. An irrational number is raised to power of another irrational number, What could be the
possible result? Is it Always Irrational or it could be rational too. Explain with examples.
 
2. If 2  3  5  13  48   a  b where a and b are natural number find  a  b 
 
 
3. Prove that n is not a rational number, if n is not a perfect square.
4. The number of solutions in positive integers of 2 x  3 y  763 is:
5. a and b are two positive integers such that the least prime factor of a is 3 and the least prime
factor of b is 5. Then, the least prime factor of  a  b  is
MODERATE:
6. Check whether 1000,000,000,001 is prime or not.
7. Represent n on real Number Line, if n is a natural number but not a perfect square.
8. For what values of a and b , 12ab is a multiple of 99 ?
9. A box contains gold coins. If the coins are equally divided among six friends, four coins are left
over. If the coins are equally divided among five friends, three coins are left over.
If the box holds the smallest number of coins that meets these two conditions, how many coins
are left when equally divided among seven friends?
10. A number when divided by a divisor leaves a remainder of 24. When twice the original number
is divided by the same divisor, the remainder is 11. What is the value of the divisor?

ANSWER KEY

2. 8 4. 127 5. 2 8. a = 8, b = 7 9. 28 10. 37

5
HOMEWORK (Number Theory)

1. The largest number by which the expression n3  n is divisible for all possible integral values
of n, is
2. A six place number is formed by repeating a three place number; for example, 256256 or
678678, etc. Any number of this form is always exactly divisible by
3. If 2137753 is multiplied out, the units' digit in the final product in the final product is:
4. The number 695 is to be written with a factorial base of numeration, that is,
695  a1  a2  2!  a3  3! ... an  n! where a1 , a2 , a3 ... an are integers such that 0  ak  k
, and n! means n  n 1 n  2 ...2 1. . Find a4
5. What is the least number that is divisible by all the natural numbers from 1 to 10
(both inclusive)?
6. The smallest positive integer x for which 1260 x  N 3 , where N is an integer, is:
7. The number of positive integers less than 1000 divisible by neither 5 nor 7 is:
8. For natural numbers, when P is divided by D, the quotient is Q and the remainder is R .
When Q is divided by D , the quotient is Q and the remainder is R  . Then, when is divided
by DD , the remainder is:
9. The stronger Goldbach conjecture states that any even integer greater than 7 can be written as
the sum of two different prime numbers. For such representations of the even number 126, the
largest possible difference between the two primes is
10. 11 whole numbers 2019,2020,2021,…..,2029 are arranged randomly to form a 44 digit number,
Prove that it can never be a prime.

ANSWER KEY
1. 6 2. 1001 3. 7 4. 3 5. 2520
6. 7350 7. 686 8. R  RD 9. 100

6
GEOMETRY:
Geometry is perhaps the most elementary of the sciences that enable man, by purely intellectual processes, to make
predictions (based on observation) about physical world. The power of geometry, in the sense of accuracy and utility
of these deductions, is impressive, and has been a powerful motivation for the study of logic in geometry.

H. M. S. Coxeter (1907-2003)

Though Pure Geometry isn’t part of JEE syllabus but inclusion of Coordinate geometry and
Trigonometry makes this revision pertinent and essential. Also in exams like KVPY, ISI Entrance
, Maths Olympiads there will be many questions from 10th standard pure geometry.

Lets start with theorems related to a triangle:

THEOREMS RELATED TO A TRIANGLE

1 ANGLE BISECTOR THEOREM

c b
It states that given triangle ABC and angle bisector AD, where D is on side BC, then  .
m n
c m
It follows that  . Likewise, the converse of this theorem holds as well.
b n

Can you prove it?

7
ICE 2
1. Let ABC be a triangle with angle bisector AD with D on line segment BC.
If BD  2, CD  5, and AB  AC  10, , find AB and AC.
20 3 10 3
2. In triangle ABC, let P be a point on BC and let AB  20, AC  10, BP  , CP  . Find the
3 3
value of mBAP  mCAP .

ANSWER KEY
1. AC = 50/7, AB = 20/7 2. 0

2. STEWART'S THEOREM
Given a triangle ABC with sides of length a, b, c opposite vertices are A, B, C respectively.
If cevian AD is drawn so that , and BD  m, DC  n and AD  d , we have that
b2 m  c2 n  amn  d 2a

Can you prove it?

3. TRIANGLE INEQUALITY
The Triangle Inequality says that in a nondegenerate triangle ABC :
AB  BC  AC
BC  AC  AB
AC  AB  BC
That is, the sum of the lengths of any two sides is larger than the length of the third side.
In degenerate triangles, the strict inequality must be replaced by "greater than or equal to."
ICE 3
1. In a triangle with integer side lengths, one side is three times as long as a second side, and the
length of the third side is 15. What is the greatest possible perimeter of the triangle?
Ans: 43

8
4. PYTHAGOREAN INEQUALITY
The Pythagorean Inequality is a generalization of the Pythagorean Theorem, which states that in
a right triangle with sides of length a  b  c we have a2  b2  c2 . This Inequality extends this
to obtuse and acute triangles. The inequality says:
For an acute triangle with sides of length a  b  c , a2  b2  c2 . For an obtuse triangle with
sides a  b  c, a 2  b2  c 2 .

5. CEVA’S THEOREM
Let ABC be a triangle, and let D, E, F be points on lines BC, CA, AB , respectively.
Lines AD, BE, CF are concurrent if and only if
BD CE AF
  1
DC EA FB

ICE 4
1. Suppose AB, AC ,and BC have lengths 13, 14, and 15, respectively.
AF 2 CE 5
If  and  find BD and DC .
FB 5 EA 8

6. SPECIAL POINTS IN A TRIANGLE

1. The orthocenter of a triangle is the common point of its three altitudes.

2. The circumcenter of a triangle is the center of its circumscribed circle (i.e. circumcircle). It is
the common point of the perpendicular bisectors of the sides of the triangle.
3. The incenter of a triangle is the center of its inscribed circle (i.e. incircle). It is the common
point of the internal bisectors of its angles.
4. The centroid of a triangle (medium point) is the common point of its medians.
5. The orthocenter, circumcenter, incenter and centroid are well-defined (and unique) for every
non-degenerate triangle.
6. Euler’s Line: The orthocenter H, centroid G and circumcircle O of an arbitrary triangle lie on
a line (Euler’s line) and satisfy HG  2GO .
7. The nine-point circle: The feet of the altitudes from A, B, C and the midpoints of AB, BC, CA,
AH, BH, CH lie on a circle (The nine-point circle)

9
THEOREMS RELATED TO A CIRCLE

1. The angle at the centre is twice the angle at the circumference:

Corollary: The angle in a semicircle is a right angle

2. Angles in the same segment are equal:

3. Opposite angles in a cyclic quadrilateral sum to 180°:

10
4. The angle between the chord and the tangent is equal to the angle in the
alternate segment:

5. PTOLEMY'S THEOREM
If a quadrilateral is inscribed in a circle, then the product of the measures of its diagonals is
equal to the sum of the products of the measures of the pairs of the opposite
sides: ie
AC.BD = AB.CD+ AD.BC As shown in diagram with a construction hint to
prove this theorem.

ICE 5
1. Below is a circle with centre C. A, B, D, and E are points on the circumference. BD is a diameter of
the circle. Angle CDA is 18\degree18° Find the size of angle EDA.

2. Below is a circle with centre C. A, E, and D are points on the circumference. AB and BD are
tangents to the circle. Angle ABD is 42\degree42°. Find the size of angle AED.

3. In triangle ABC we have AB  7, AC  8, BC  9 . Point D is on the circumscribed circle of the

triangle so that AD bisects angle BAC . What is the value of AD / CD ?
4. Let ABC be an equilateral triangle. Let P be a point on minor arc AB of its circumcircle.
Prove that PC  PA  PB .
5. A hexagon with sides of lengths 2, 2, 7, 7, 11, and 11 is inscribed in a circle. Find the diameter of
the circle
ANSWER KEY
1. 41° 2. 69° 3. 5/3 5. 14

11
HOMEWORK
EASY
1. A 25 foot ladder is placed against a vertical wall of a building. The foot of the ladder is 7 feet
from the base of the building. If the top of the ladder slips feet, then the foot of the ladder will
slide:
2. In triangle ABC, AB  12, AC  7, and BC  10 . If sides AB and AC are double
while BC remains the same, then ratio of new area with previous one is
3. A point is selected at random inside an equilateral triangle. From this point perpendiculars are
dropped to each side. Prove that the sum of these perpendiculars is equal to altitude of triangle.
4. In the ABC shown, D is some interior point, and x, y, z , w are the measures of angles in
degrees. Solve for in terms of y, z and w

MODERATE
5.  
ABC has a right angle at C and A  20 . If BD D in AC is the bisector of ABC , ,
then BDC 
6. ABCD is a square and M and N are the midpoints of BC and CD respectively. Then sin  

7. ABCD is a rectangle, D is the center of the circle, and B is on the circle.

If AD  4 and CD  3 , and the area of the shaded region is between two consecutive integers a
and a+1 then a is

12
8. Four congruent rectangles are placed as shown. The area of the outer square is times that of
the inner square. What is the ratio of the length of the longer side of each rectangle to the length
of its shorter side?

9. Triangle ABC has AB  2  AC . Let D and be on AB and AC , respectively, such

that BAE ACD. . Let F be the intersection of segments AE and CD , and suppose
that CEF is equilateral. What is ACB ? ?

10. In the figure, ABCD is a square of side length . The rectangles JKHG and EBCF are
congruent. What is BE ?

ANSWER KEY
1. 8 2. 0 4. w-y-z 5. 55’ 6. 3/5 7. 7
8. 3 9. 90’ 10. 2- root3

13
ALGEBRA
Most of the topics covered in JEE Maths syllabus are from algebra only. It would be really helpful
for a JEE aspirant to revise and learn Algebraic Identities, Factorizations and Theorems.

Lets start with some factorizations:

1. FACTORIZATION

1. a 2  b 2   a  b  a  b  , a 3  b3   a  b   a 2  ab  b 2 

And in general

………….. (p-1)
Also
If n is odd:
…. (p-2)
x  2ax  a   x  a 
2
2. 2 2

x 2  2ax  a 2   x  a 
2

x2   a  b  x  ab   x  a  x  b 
x3  3ax 2  3a 2 x  a 3   x  a 
3

x3  3ax 2  3a 2 x  a 3   x  a 
3

x3  a 3   x  a   x 2  ax  a 2 
x3  a 3   x  a   x 2  ax  a 2 
x 2 n  a 2 n   x n  a n  a n  a n 

 a  b  c   a 2  b 2  c 2  2  ab  bc  ca 
2
3.
 a  b  c   a3  b3  c3  3  a  b  b  c  c  a 
3

a  b  c  a5  b5  c5  5  a  b  b  c  c  a   a 2  b2  c 2  ab  bc  ca 
5

4. a 3  b3  c3  3abc   a  b  c   a 2  b 2  c 2  ab  bc  ca 
5. a 4  4b 4   a 2  2b 2  2ab  a 2  2b 2  2ab 

14
ICE 7
1. Prove that if n 1 then n4  4n is composite.

2. Compute
10 24
 324  224  324  344  324  464  324  584  324 
.
4 4
 324 164  324  284  324  404  324  524  324 
3. Find the largest prime divisor of 54  4  64
20144  4  20134 20124  4  20134
4. Calculate the value of  .
20132  4027 2 20132  40252
Factor  x  y    y  z    z  x  .
3 3 3
5.
a 3  b3  c 3
6. Given that , prove that abc 
3

2. EXPONENTIATION

PROPERTIES
Listed below are some important properties of exponents:
1. bx  b y  bx y
1
2. b x  x
b
x
b
3. y
 b x y
b
b 
y
4. x
 b xy

 ab   a xb x
x
5.
6. b0 1 (if b  0  0 is undefined.)
SURDS
1. To rationalize    : Let n be the LCM of p and q. Suppose a 1/ p
= x and b1/q  y .
Clearly xn & y n are both rational. We need to rationalize (x y) which can be done by
multiplying it with  x n 1 y 0  x n  2 y1  ....  x 0 y n 1  ( as mentioned in p1 above)

2. To rationalize    : Let n be the LCM of p and q. Suppose a

1/ p
= x, b1/q  y . If n is
odd then to rationalize use p2 as mentioned above.
3. √( ) {

e.g. The square root of 5 6  12 is:

(a) 61/4  3 2  (b) 61/3  3 2 
(c) 61/2  3 2 (d) 61/4  3 2

15
 
Solution: 5 6  12  6 5  2 6 
 5 6  12   
6 5 2 6 
 61/4 5  2 6
Let  5  2 6    x y 
Squaring both sides:
5  2 6  x  y  2 xy  x  y  5, xy  6
 x, y, are roots of t 2  5t  6  0  t  3 or 2
 x, y   3, 2 ,  5  2 6    3 2 
  5 6  12  61/4  3 2  (a)

ICE 8
EASY
1 4 1
1. If x  7  4 3 & xy  , then the value of 2  2 is ANS:
2 x y
7
2. Prove that the value of is a rational number? ans:
 
16  6 7  16  6 7

1  2  . 2
1/6
3. The simplified value of 3 2  3 is Ans: -1

MODERATE

4. Prove that : x  2 x 1  x  2 x 1 = 2 , if 1  x  2
 2 x  1, if x > 2
1
5. Express as a quantity with rational denominator.
2 33

ANSWER KEY

1 1
 5 4 1 2 3 1 5

1. 776 2. 1/2 3. 1 5.  33  2 2.  33  3 3.2 2  6  3 3.2 2  33.4  2 2 
 

16
HOMEWORK

Prove That:
12
1.  1  5  2  10
3 5  2 2
2. √ √ =  6  2 2  6 2
1/ 2
 m2  n2  [√ √ ]
3. If x  a 

then √ √
= m/n
 2mn 
4. then

5.
15
10  20  40  5  80

 5 2 1 
√
6. =( √ )
√

7.
1

1

. 21  10  14  15 
10  14  15  21 2

8. If x2  3 x4 y 2  y 2  3 x2 y4  a , then

9. If A 
1
2
 1

1  5 & B  1  5 , and U n 
2
1
5
  
An  B n  , then  U n 1

10. If ( √ ) ( √ ) then = 4.

17
 POLYNOMIAL DIVISION, REMAINDER THEOREM AND FACTOR THEOREM

Suppose we wish to find the zeros of f(x)=x3+4x2−5x−14. Setting f(x)=0 results in the
polynomial equation x3+4x2−5x−14=0. Despite all of the factoring techniques we learned in
Intermediate Algebra, this equation foils us at every turn. If we graph ff using the graphing
calculator, we get

The graph suggests that the function has three zeros, one of which is x=2. It's easy to show
that f(2)=0, but the other two zeros seem to be less friendly. Even though we could use the
'Zero' command to find decimal approximations for these, we seek a method to find the
remaining zeros exactly. Based on our experience, if x=2 is a zero, it seems that there should be
a factor of (x−2)(x−2) lurking around in the factorization of f(x). In other words, we should
expect that x3 + 4x2 −5x−14=(x−2)q(x), where q(x) is some other polynomial. How could we find
such a q(x), if it even exists? The answer comes from our old friend, polynomial division.
Dividing x3+4x2−5x−14 by x−2 gives

As you may recall, this means x3+4x2−5x−14=(x−2)(x2+6x+7), so to find the zeros off, we now
solve (x−2)(x2+6x+7)=0. We get x−2=0 (which gives us our known zero, x=2) as well
as x2+6x+7=0. The latter doesn't factor nicely, so we apply the Quadratic Formula to get x
=−3±√2. The point of this section is to generalize the technique applied here. First up is a
friendly reminder of what we can expect when we divide polynomials.

POLYNOMIAL DIVISION
Suppose d(x) and p(x) are nonzero polynomials where the degree of p is greater than or equal
to the degree of d. There exist two unique polynomials, q(x) and r(x), such
that p(x)=d(x)q(x)+r(x), where either r(x)=0 or the degree of r is strictly less than the degree
of d.

18
 As you may recall, all of the polynomials have special names. The polynomial p is called
the dividend; d is the divisor; q is the quotient; r is the remainder. If r(x)=0 then d is called
a factor of p.

REMAINDER THEOREM
Suppose p is a polynomial of degree at least 1 and c is a real number. When p(x) is
divided by x−c the remainder is p(c).
The proof of this Theorem is a direct consequence of Polynomial Division . When a polynomial
is divided by x−c, the remainder is either 0 or has degree less than the degree of x−c.
Since x−c is degree 1, the degree of the remainder must be 0, which means the remainder is a
constant. Hence, in either case, p(x)=(x−c)q(x)+r, where r, the remainder, is a real number. It
follows that p(c)=(c−c)q(c)+r=0⋅q(c)+r=r so we get r=p(c) as required.
SO, The Remainder Theorem:
When we divide a polynomial f(x) by x−c the remainder is f(c)
Example: The remainder after 2x2−5x−1 is divided by x−3
(Our example from above)
We don't need to divide by (x−3) ... just calculate f(3):
2(3)2−5(3)−1 = 2x9−5x3−1
= 18−15−1
=2
EXTENSION
An extension of the Remainder Theorem could be used to find the remainder of a polynomial
when it is divided by a non-linear polynomial. Note that if p  x  is a polynomial, q  x  is the
quotient, d  x  is a divisor, and r  x  is the remainder, the polynomial can be written as
p  x   q  x  d  x   r  x  Note that the degree of r  x  is less than the degree of d  x  . Let an be a
root of d  x  , where is an integer and 1  n  deg d . That means for all an , p  an   r  an  Thus,
the points  an , p  an   are on the graph of the remainder. If all the roots of d  x  are unique,
then a system of equations can be made to find the remainder r  x  .
There is one last 'low hanging fruit' to collect which we present below.

THE FACTOR THEOREM

Suppose p is a nonzero polynomial. The real number c is a zero of p if and only if (x−c) is
a factor of p(x).
The proof of The Factor Theorem is a consequence of what we already know. If (x−c) is a factor
of p(x), this means p(x)=(x−c)q(x) for some polynomial q. Hence, p(c)=(c−c)q(c)= 0, so c is a
zero of p. Conversely, if c is a zero of p, then p(c)=0. In this case, The Remainder Theorem tells
us the remainder when p(x) is divided by (x−c) namely p(c) is 0, which means (x−c) is a factor
of p. What we have established is the fundamental connection between zeros of polynomials
and factors of polynomials.
So, The Factor Theorem:
When f(c)=0 then x−c is a factor of f(x)

19
ICE 9
1. What is the remainder when x2  2x  3 is divided by x 1 ?
2. If f  x   3x3  9x2  kx 12 is divisible by x  3 , then find all factors of f  x  ?
3. The remainder obtained by dividing x100 by x2  3x  2 is a polynomial of degree less than 2 .
Then find R ?

ANSWER KEY
1. 2 2.  3x 2
 4   x  3

HOMEWORK:
Find the remainder when  x  3   x  2    5 x  9  is divided by x  2
5 8 1997
1.
2. Find the remainder when x51  51 is divided by x 1
3. Find the remainder when x13 1 is divided by x  1
4. The polynomial P  x  has remainder 99 when divided by x  19 and remainder 19 when
divided by x  99 What is the remainder when P  x  is divided by  x 19 x  99 ?
5. A polynomial p  x  leaves remainder –2 upon division by x  1 and remainder x  4 upon
division y by x  2 . Find the remainder when this polynomial is divided by x2  x  2 .
6. If p  x  is a cubic polynomial with p 1 1, p  2  2, p 3  3, p  4  5, find p  6 
7. Suppose that a and b are integers such that x2  x 1 is a factor of ax3  bx 2 1. What is b ?
8. Suppose that P  x  is a linear polynomial with P  6  P  2 12. What is P 12  P  2 ?
9. For how many values of the coefficient a do the equations 0  x2  ax 1 and 0  x2  x  a have
a common real solution?
10. Find the remainder when x81  x49  x25  x9  x is divided by x3  x.
11. The polynomial p  x  satisfies p   x    p  x  . When p  x  is divided by x  3 the remainder is
6. Find the remainder when p  x  is divided by x2  9 .
12. Find all values of m which make x  2 a factor of x3  3m2 x2  mx  4

INTERVALS
Intervals are basically subsets of R and are of very much importance in Mathematics as you will
get to know shortly . If there are two numbers a, b  R such that a < b, we can define four types
of intervals as follows :
Open interval : (a , b) = {x : a < x < b} i.e., end points are not included.
Closed interval : [a, b] = {x : a  x  b} i.e., end points are also included.
This is possible only when both a and b are finite.
Open–closed Interval :  a, b  x : a  x  b
Closed–open interval :  a, b   x : a  x  b
The infinite intervals are defined as follows :
 a,   x : x  a ; a,  x : x  a ;  , b  x : x  b
intervals are particularly important in solving inequalities or in finding domains etc.

20
MODULUS FUNCTION
Definition: Modulus of a number
Modulus of a number is defined as a (denoted by |a|)
 a If a  0 
 
a   0 If a  0 
a If a  0 
 
Basic properties of modulus
(A) ab  a b
a a
(B)  where b  0
b b
(C) a b  a  b
(D) a  b  a  b equality holds if ab  0
(E) If a  0
(i) x  a  x  a
(ii) x   a  No solution
(iii) x  a  x  a or x  a
(iv) x  a  a  x  a
(v) x  a xR
(vi) x   a  No solution
(vii) a  x  b  x b,  a    a, b 
a, b  R 
eg. Solve x 1  x  1  2
Sol. We know | x – a | = x – a if x  a
= a – x if x < a
So the modulus functions | x + 1| and
| x – 1| are defined as follows.
–(x+1) (x+1)
–1 –(x–1) 1 (x+1)
 if x < – 1, the equation is
– (x + 1) – (x – 1) = 2
or –2x = 2;  x = – 1.
But x < – 1. So there is no solution.
If 1 x 1, the equation is
x + 1 – (x –1) = 2
or 2 = 2 which is true for all x. But 1 x 1
we get 1 x 1
If x 1 , the equation is x + 1 + x – 1 = 2
or 2x = 2;
 x = 1 which satisfies x 1 .
the required solution is 1 x 1 or x 1
x  1,1

21
ICE 10
1. Solve for x, where
(i) |3x|>1, (ii) x  2 1 (iii) x2  3 x  2  0
2. 15∣x−7∣+4=10∣x−7∣+4
3. 7∣x−2∣+7=−2∣x−2∣+2
4. 7∣x−3∣−10=5∣x−3∣−10
5. 7∣x−9∣−5=−3∣x−9∣+25
6. 9 2 x 1  9  2 6 x  3
7. Find the value of  for which |x – 1| + |x – 10| =  has infinitely many
8. If x – 1 x – 2 = – (x 2 – 3x + 2), then x lies in the interval
(A) [1, 2] (B) (– , 1] [2, ) (C) (1, 2) (D) [1, 2)
9. The number of solutions of the equation x 1  x  2  x  3  6 in the interval (–2, 3) is
(A) 4 (B) 2 (C) 0 (D) 3
10. The set of all x satisfying x  4 x  3  8  0 consists of
2

(A) no points,
(B) finitely many points from the set of all natural number
(C) finitely many points from the set of all integers
(D) two integers

HOMEWORK
Solve For x :
1. Find the number of real values of  , so that the equation x   2  x     has infinitely many
solutions.
2. x  x  3 1  4
3. Find the number of real values of ‘x’ for which the equation
x  x  1  2 x 2  x  1  1  0
2 2

4. Find the number of integral solutions of ‘x’ for the equation

2 x  8  2 x  6  14
5. Find the value of ‘x’ for equation, x  5  x 1  7
6. Find the value of x for the equation
x 2  9  x 2 1  x 2  5 x  6  0
7. The number of solutions of x  2  2  3  x  is
(A) 0 (B) 2 (C) 1 (D) infinite
8. The number of solutions 3x  2  x 11 is
(A) 0 (B) 2 (C) 1 (D) infinite
9. The number of solutions x  x  2  2 is
(A) 0 (B) 2 (C) 1 (D) infinite
10. The least integral value of x which satisfies the equation x  3  2 x  1  4 is
(A) negative (B) 0 (C) positive (D) Doesn’t exist

22