Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2018 / ia / Paper 1 / 9F / b

Let the nonconstant polynomial have degree $d$ and leading coefficient $c$. If $d$ is odd, its limits at $+\infty$ and $-\infty$ have opposite signs, so the intermediate value theorem shows that its image is $\mathbb{R}$. If $d$ is even and $c>0$, it tends to $+\infty$ at both ends. Outside a sufficiently large compact interval it exceeds $f(0)$, while on that interval the extreme value theorem gives a global minimum $a$. Continuity and the intermediate value theorem then give image $[a,\infty )$. For $c<0$, applying this argument to $-f$ gives $(-\infty ,a]$. These are exactly the three possible images.