In: Advanced Math
Suppose that f(x)=x^n+a_(n-1) x^(n-1)+⋯+a_0∈Z[x]. If r is rational and x-r divides f(x), prove that r is an integer.
solution:-
which means
Suppose is an integer and and so that the fraction is in reduced form
Therefore,
Substituting in the above expression, we have
That is, is a root of
If is not an integer, then
Thus, where is a prime number
Substituting in we get
Multiplying both sides by we get
Thus, we have
That is,
As
So that
Thus,
But this contradicts the fact that
Therefore, we must have where
Which is to say that the rational root of must be an integer