A generalization of Descartes’ rule of signs and fundamental theorem of algebra

Descartes’ rule of signs yields an upper bound for the number of positive and negative real roots of a given polynomial. The fundamental theorem of algebra implies a similar property; every real polynomial of degree n ⩾ 1 has at most n real zeroes. In this paper, we describe axiomatically function families possessing one or another of these properties. The resulting families include, at least, all polynomial functions and sums of exponential functions. As an application of our approach, we consider, among other things, a method for identifying certain type of bases for the Euclidean space.