Synthetic Division (Jump to: Lecture | Video )

Synthetic Division
Synthetic Division is a method for dividing a polynomial by a binomial.

Figure 1.

We use Synthetic Division to perform the above division

First, make sure the terms are written in descending order by degree. Our terms are already in order.

Second, write out the coefficients of each term, as shown below.

Figure 2.

Third, write out the constant as the divisor.

Figure 3.

Fourth, bring the first coefficient down.

Figure 4.

Fifth, multiply the first coefficient by the constant, then place the product under the second coefficient. Then add the two.

Figure 5.

Sixth, multiply the sum (1) by the constant, then place the product under the third coefficient. Then, again, add the two.

Figure 6.

Finally, continue repeating this pattern until you’ve reached the end.

Figure 7.

Now, we have our final answer:

Figure 8.

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