Question

Find the quotient and the remainder when 3x2 + 23x – 36 is divided by x + 9.

Answer 1

Explanation:

Note that the given polynomial has the coefficients 3, 23 and -36. Using -9 as divisor in synthetic division, we get:

-9 / 3 23 -36

-27 36

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3 -4 0

The first two digits of this result indicate that the other factor is 3x - 4. The zero remainder tells us that -9 is a root of this quadratic, and verifies that (3x - 4) is a factor.