2 Algebraic Divisi Vl be honest with you, algebraic division is a bit tricky, But as long as you take it slowly and don't rush, itl all fall into place. And it’ really quick and easy to check your answer if you're not sure, What more could you want? here are some Terms There are a few words that keep popping up in algebraic division, so make sure you know what they all mean. 1), DEGREE — the highest power of x in the polynomial (e.g the degree of 4x° + Gx? —3x—1is5). 2) DIVISOR — this isthe thing you're dividing by (e.g. if you divide x? + 4x3 by x +2, the divisor isx +2) 3)_ QUOTIENT — the bit that you get when you divide by the divisor (not including the remainder — see p.3). jd 1— Divide by Sub Back in C2, you leamt how to do algebraic division by subtracting chunks of the divisor Here's a quick reminder of how to divide a polynomial by x ~ Eee 1) Subtract a multiple of (x — 4) to get rid of the highest power of x. Hive alo Bac at os 2) Repeat step 1 until you've got rid of all the powers of x. C2 votes you ant reper hom todo thig= 3) Work out how many lumps of (— 8), you've subtracted, and read off the remainder. “// "77 "YS FSUMMN (bivide 20° — 3° 3x +7 by v2. @ Stan with 208-344 — 3 +7, and subtract see ie pana cine Seay Be BE 7) Det 2) = P37 @ Now start again with »*~ 3x + 7. The highest power of x___yp(x? 3x 4-7) xe 2)=— 3 47 is the a term, so subtract x [ots of (x -2) to get rid of that @ Alla’ let now is-x +7, Get rid of x by subtracting 1 x -2),<>(—x + 7)— (1-2) = So (20 — 3a — 3x +7) + (e— 2) = ENE I remainder 5 ‘Ta divide two algebraic expressions, you can use long division (using the same method you'd use for numbers) TSENMOTA divide 29° - 74° - 16x + 11 by x5. Firth original pohmerial doen't ave an term, fr example, ist pal Ox where the xterm should be O 2 ox=2e 20 4 36-1 2 ct a he ee ale 5) TE TOT Shh ee hn henge Oey i 57 te 22 tot Saar the 3x — 16x | @ Multipy (5) by 3x to get Ssnciog ro Py b=) by ate Qsuvracing eH os 15 ag i then sae apn ee ate gfe it TEES © ter sarang, tis tor hs dare tats Ios tay eget of do = Odiide aby xo ge ‘then mutiply (x ~ 5) by = Excess eet So (Qs! = 70 = 16e-+ 11) + = 5) = 20 + 3x1 remainder 6 Med ce lily ole anover by br 5} to phe yo This could also be written as 2 ot ight = Just keep repeating — divide and conquer, divide and conquer... For algebraic division to work, the degree ofthe divisor has to be less than (or equal to) the degree of the original polynomial (for example, you couldn't divide x? +2x + 3 by 2 + 4 as 3 > 2, but you could do it the other way around). Ir you don't ike either ofthese methods, you'll he pleased to know there's another way to divide coming up on the next page. C3 Section 1 — Atcesra AND FUNCTIONS