Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial.Get instant access to all the benefits of SparkNotes PLUS! Cancel within the first 7 days and you won't be charged. We'll even send you a reminder.
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Step 2 of 4
Choose Your Plan
Step 3 of 4
Add Your Payment Details
Step 4 of 4
Payment Summary
Your Free Trial Starts Now!
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
We’d love to have you back! Renew your subscription to regain access to all of our exclusive, ad-free study tools.
Long division is useful with the remainder and factor theorems, but long
division can be time consuming. To divide a polynomial by a binomial and
compute the remainder, we can also use synthetic division. We can only
divide by a binomial whose leading
coefficient is 1--thus, we must factor the
leading coefficient out of the binomial and divide by the leading coefficient
separately. Also, the binomial must have degree 1; we cannot use synthetic
division to divide by a binomial like x2 + 1. Here are the steps for
dividing a polynomial by a binomial using synthetic division:
Write the polynomial in descending
order, adding "zero terms" if an exponent
term is skipped.
If the polynomial does not have a leading coefficient of 1, write the
binomial as b(x - a) and divide the polynomial by b. Otherwise, leave the
binomial as x - a.
Write the value of a, and write all the coefficients of the polynomial in
a horizontal line to the left of a.
Draw a line below the coefficients, leaving room above the line.
Bring the first coefficient below the line.
Multiply the number below the line by a and write the result above the
line below the next coefficient.
Subtract the result from the coefficient above it.
Repeat steps 6 and 7 until all the coefficients have been used.
If the polynomial has n terms, the first n - 1 numbers below the line
are the coefficients of the resulting polynomial, and the last number is the
remainder.
Example: What is the result when 4x4 -6x3 -12x2 - 10x + 2 is
divided by x - 3? What is the remainder?
Figure %: Synthetic Division
The result is 4x3 +6x2 + 6x + 8, and the remainder is 26.