Simplify
Simplify
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75 comments
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Fun fact, omitting the (x-x) zero term and expanding the entire polynomial, you'd get something with 2^25 = 33,554,432 terms. May be slightly excessive!
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Couldn't you combine a lot of like terms as you went along, though? A polynomial of the order x26 would only have 27 terms.
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No, because each coefficient is its own variable; they're not constants.
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because each coefficient
There's only 1 coefficient - in this case it's (a-x) - the rest are just factors.
they’re not constants
They could be - we haven't been given that information.
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Huh, I'm so used to polynomials being in the form ax^2 + bx + c that I never considered that every letter might be a variable.
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33,554,432 terms
Actually it would be that many factors. The whole thing is a single Term.
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75 comments