Name:____________________________

Class Period:___________

Polynomial Connections- Day 2

Objective: to understand the relationship between the end-behavior of a polynomial
function and the polynomials degree and sign of the function.

Part One: Understanding the degree of a polynomial function.

1. What is the degree of a polynomial function?

2. Can you write a polynomial function with an odd degree? Can you write the
polynomial function with an even degree?

3. What purpose do you predict the degree of a polynomial function will have on the
end-behavior of the polynomial graph?

Part Two: Exploration & Making Conjectures

1. Graph the following polynomial functions in the space provided.

a) () = + 3 b) () = ( 1)3

c) () = 2 d) () = 4 4 2
2. What do you notice about the end behavior of the polynomial functions in graphs
a,b,c, and d? Why do the ends behave that way?

3. Write your own polynomial equation then graph it. Does it support your conjectures
from question 2?

() =

4. What do you think would happen to the graphs if we multiplied the polynomial
functions by (-1)?

5. Now graph the altered polynomial equations.

a) 2 () = (1)( + 3) b) 2 ()(1) = (1)( 1)3

 Name:____________________________
Class Period:___________
c) 2 () = (1) 2 d) 2 () = (1)( 4 4 2 )

6. What changed between the original graphs and the graphed that were multiplied by
(-1)? Were your predictions from question 3 correct?

7. What patterns are you finding and what conjectures can you make about the end
behavior of a polynomial?

Part Three: Solidifying Understanding & Conclusion

Suppose () is a polynomial with the highest degree n, so a polynomial function looks like
() = +

1. If a>0 and n is even, what will the end-behavior of () look like?

2. If a>0 and n is odd, what will the end-behavior of () look like?

3. If a<0 and n is even, what will the end-behavior of () look like?

4. If a<0 and n is odd, what will the end-behavior of () look like?