Asked by Chuck Bass

A fifth-degree polynomial with integral coefficients must have at least one real zero.

True

False

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
True.

Reason: a degree-5 polynomial with integer coefficients is a real-valued continuous function with odd degree. As x → +∞ and x → −∞ the leading-term a x^5 dominates and has opposite signs, so the polynomial takes values of opposite sign at large ±x. By the Intermediate Value Theorem it must be zero for some real x.