Question

What should be true about the divisor (the number you are dividing by) in order for synthetic division to be

pretty straightforward?

Answer 1

In order for synthetic division to be pretty straightforward, the divisor must be of the first degree (that is, the power of x must be exactly one.) and must have the binomial form x - a.

Unlike Long Division which makes use of the polynomials given directly, Synthetic Division makes use of the coefficients of this polynomials.