1. Factor P (x) = x^4 - 4x^3 + 3x^2:
1a. Factor out the GCF or x^2:
P (x) = x^2 (x^2- 4x + 3)
1b. Factor the trinomial. What multiplies to make 3 and adds to make -4?
(-1)+(-3) = -4 and (-1)(-3) = 3
P (x) = x^2 (x-1) (x-3)
2. Find the zeros be setting each factor equal to 0:
x^2 = 0 if x=0, with multiplicity 2
x-1 = 0 if x=1
x-3 = 0 if x=3
Your zeros are 0, 0, 1, and 3.