We solve polynomials algebraically in order to determine the roots - where a curve cuts the \(x\)-axis. A root of a polynomial function, \(f(x)\), is a value for \(x\) for which \(f(x) = 0\).

First, we need to find which number when substituted into the equation will give the answer zero. \(f(1) = {(1)^3} + 4{(1)^2} + (1) - 6 = 0\) Therefore \((x - 1)\)is a factor. Factorise the quadratic ...

Mahesh Ramesh Kakde, winner of this year’s Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award for Mathematics, is a number theorist at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, who studies polynomial ...