Question

Find a zero of the polynomial \[p(x) = 3x + 1\]
a. \[\dfrac{1}{3}\]
b. \[\dfrac{{ - 1}}{3}\]
c. 3
d. -3

Answer 1

Hint: Zeros of a polynomial can be defined as the points where the polynomial becomes zero as a whole. A polynomial having value zero (0) is called zero polynomial. To find the zeros of the given polynomial equate it to zero. The degree of a polynomial is the highest power of the variable x.

Complete step by step answer:

In the given problem, we have, our polynomial, \[p(x) = 3x + 1\]
So, to find the zeros of the equation, we will equate it to zero,
Thus we get, \[3x + 1 = 0\]
\[ \Rightarrow 3x = - 1\]
On simplifying we get,
\[ \Rightarrow x = \dfrac{{ - 1}}{3}\]
So, a zero of the polynomial is \[ = \dfrac{{ - 1}}{3}\]

Note: We can verify the result by substituting it in the given polynomial. For a polynomial, there could be some values of the variable for which the polynomial will be zero. These values are called zeros of a polynomial. Sometimes, they are also referred to as roots of the polynomials. In general, we find the zeros of quadratic equations, to get the solutions for the given equation.