Cubics (Factorising and Graphing)

This interactive excel program enables students to investigate cubic functions and the relationship between the factorised form and the graph.

The first activities require the student to use the factor theorem to factorise cubic polynomials and then to see the graphs. Alternatively students can toggle between the sets of polynomials and their graphs in order to find the factors.

Other sheets generate cubic polynomials and show how factors can be found by substituting values into the function, i.e. the Remainder Theorem. From this the graph of the cubic function can be viewed and the relationship between factors and graph clearly seen.

The resource also has four printable worksheets which may be used for consolidation or extension work. Topics include a number crossword about solutions to equations, translating cubic functions, plotting graphs and finding the gradient of a cubic function.

Note
This program was designed to be viewed on a screen with a resolution of 1024 x 768. Users may have to adjust the resolution of their screen for the pages to display as was originally intended. The program uses macros which need to be enabled on a machine.