Quintic function

In mathematics, a quintic function is a function of the form g ( x ) = a x 5 + b x 4 + c x 3 + d x 2 + e x + f , {\displaystyle g(x)=ax^{5}+bx^{4}+cx^{3}+dx^{2}+ex+f,\,} where a, b, c, d, e and f are members of a field, typically the rational numbers, the real numbers or the complex numbers, and a is nonzero. In other words, a quintic function is defined by a polynomial of degree five. Because they have an odd degree, normal quintic functions appear similar to normal cubic functions when graphed, except they may possess one additional local maximum and one additional local minimum. The derivative of a quintic function is a quartic function. Setting g(x) = 0 and assuming a ≠ 0 produces a quintic equation of the form: a x 5 + b x 4 + c x 3 + d x 2 + e x + f = 0. {\displaystyle ax^{5}+bx^{4}+cx^{3}+dx^{2}+ex+f=0.\,} Solving quintic equations in terms of radicals (nth roots) was a major problem in algebra from the 16th century, when cubic and quartic equations were solved, until the first half of the 19th century, when the impossibility of such a general solution was proved with the Abel–Ruffini theorem.