Problem

Explain why no list of four polynomials spans $\mathcal{P}_4(\mathbb{F})$

Solution

The list $1,z,z^2,z^3,z^4$ has five linearly independent elements and spans $\mathcal{P}_4(\mathbb{F})$, therefore by theorem $2.23$ no list of less than $5$ polynomials can span the space.