If they are complex polynomials or can be treated as such, then you could apply [Rouche's theorem][1], where the location of the zeros is determined by the dominant polynomial within the sum. (*"Walk the dog on the leash"*) Possibly related: you could use the [Wronskian][2] to determine the values of A that make $P_n(x)$ and $Q_n(x)$ linearly independent. Your question is related to [Mason's theorem][3]. There are a few papers which explore this specifically 1. *MR1923392 (2003j:30012) Kim, Seon-Hong . Factorization of sums of polynomials. Acta Appl. Math. 73 (2002), no. 3, 275--284.* 2. *MR2103113 (2005h:30011) Kim, Seon-Hong . On zeros of certain sums of polynomials. Bull. Korean Math. Soc. 41 (2004), no. 4, 641--646* 3. *MR1911767 (2003d:11036) Pintér, Á. Zeros of the sum of polynomials. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 270 (2002), no. 1, 303--305.* [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouch%25C3%25A9%2527s_theorem [2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wronskian [3]: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/MasonsTheorem.html