Polynomial Division

Polynomial division
mc-TY-polydiv-2009-1
In order to simplify certain sorts of algebraic fraction we need a process known as polynomial
division. This unit describes this process.
In order to master the techniques explained here it is vital that you undertake plenty of practice
exercises so that all this becomes second nature. To help you to achieve this, the unit includes
a number of such exercises.
After reading this text, and/or viewing the video tutorial on this topic, you should be able to:
• simplify algebraic fractions by performing polynomial division
Contents
1. Introduction 2
2. Long division of numbers 2
3. Polynomial division 3
www.mathcentre.ac.uk 1 c mathcentre 2009

1. Introduction
In order to simplify certain sorts of algebraic fraction we need a process known as polynomial
division. This unit describes how this process is carried out.
2. Long Division of numbers

The process is very like the long division of numbers. Let us look in detail at a long division sum
and try to see how the process works. You should work through the example yourself since we
are going to examine exactly how it was done.
Example
Suppose we wish to divide 2675 by 25. The calculation is set out like this:
107
25 2675
25
175
175
0
Now how was it done ?

The first question was ‘how many times does 25 divide into 26 ?’. The answer is 1 and this is
recorded above the 6. We then multiplied the 25 by 1 and wrote the answer down beneath the
26. This is so that by subtracting the answer from 26 we can find out how much is left over
after the division of 26 by 25. The amount left over, or remainder, is 1. Given its position the
one remainder is not 1 unit but 1 hundred.
We now bring down the next figure in 2675, the 7, and set it alongside the 1 to give 17. The
question we ask now is ‘how many times does 25 divide into 17 ?’. The answer is none, which
we record with 0 above the 7.
We now bring down the next figure in 2675, the 5, and set it alongside the 17 to give 175. The
question we ask now is ‘how many times does 25 divide into 175 ?’. We guess the answer is 7,
which we record above the 5 of 2675.
This guess is important for what follows in polynomial division. We could base the guess on a
rough estimate, how many times does 2 divide into 17, and the answer is 8. However 8 multiplied
by 25 is 200, way over 175. Thus we go with 7.
We now multiply 25 by 7 to get 175 and write this below the 175 already there. We are seeking
to find out how much is left over, or the remainder after the division has been completed, and
so we subtract 175 from 175 giving an answer of 0, i.e. there is no remainder and the division
is finished.
2675
We see that 25 divides into 2675 exactly, 107 times, with no remainder, that is = 107.
25

3. Polynomial division
We now do the same process with algebra.
Example
Suppose we wish to find
27x3 + 9x2 − 3x − 10
3x − 2
The calculation is set out as we did before for long division of numbers:

3x − 2 27x3 + 9x2 − 3x − 10
The question we ask is ‘how many times does 3x, NOT 3x − 2, go into 27x3 ?’. The answer is
9x2 times. And we record this above the x2 place, just as we did with the numbers:
9x2
3x − 2 27x3 + 9x2 − 3x − 10
Just as we did with the numbers we need to find the remainder, and so we multiply 9x2 by 3x − 2
and write the answer down under 27x3 + 9x2 . Thus we get:
9x2
3x − 2 27x3 + 9x2 − 3x − 10
27x3 − 18x2
To find out what is left we now subtract, and get 27x2 , and as with the numbers we now bring
down the next term, the −3x, and write it alongside the 27x2 to give:
9x2
3x − 2 27x3 + 9x2 − 3x − 10
27x3 − 18x2
27x2 − 3x
The question to be asked now is, ‘how many times does 3x, NOT 3x − 2, go into 27x2 ?’. The
answer is 9x and we write this above the −3x term, i.e. above the x place:
9x2 + 9x
3x − 2 27x3 + 9x2 − 3x − 10
27x3 − 18x2
27x2 − 3x
Again we want to know what is left over from the division, so we multiply 3x − 2 by the 9x and
write the answer down so we can subtract it from 27x2 − 3x, giving us 15x:
9x2 + 9x
3x − 2 27x3 + 9x2 − 3x − 10
27x3 − 18x2
27x2 − 3x
27x2 − 18x
15x
The process is now repeated for the third time; bring down the next term, −10, write it next to
the 15x, and ask ‘how many times does 3x, not 3x − 2, go into 15x ?’.

9x2 + 9x
3x − 2 27x3 + 9x2 − 3x − 10
27x3 − 18x2
27x2 − 3x
27x2 − 18x
15x − 10
3x divides into 15x five times, and so we record this above the number place, above the 10. We
multiply 3x − 2 by 5 and write the answer down so we can subtract it from 15x − 10 and see
what the remainder is:
9x2 + 9x + 5
3x − 2 27x3 + 9x2 − 3x − 10
27x3 − 18x2
27x2 − 3x
27x2 − 18x
15x − 10
15x − 10
0
And in this case there is no remainder. Thus
27x3 + 9x2 − 3x − 10
= 9x2 + 9x + 5
3x − 2
Check back through the calculation again and compare it with 2675 divided by 25. You should
see that effectively they are the same process.
Example
x4 + x3 + 7x2 − 6x + 8
x2 + 2x + 8
The calculation is set out as follows, and an explanation is given below.
x2 − x + 1
x + 2x + 8 x + x + 7x2 − 6x + 8
2 4 3
x4 + 2x3 + 8x2
− x3 − x2 − 6x
− x3 − 2x2 − 8x
x2 + 2x + 8
x2 + 2x + 8
0
Work through the example. Your thinking should be moving along the lines:
‘How many times does x2 go into x4 ?’. The answer is x2 times.
Write x2 above the x2 place in x4 + x3 + 7x2 − 6x + 8.
Multiply x2 + 2x + 8 by x2 , write the answer down underneath x4 + x3 + 7x2 and subtract to find
the remainder - which is −x3 − x2 .
Bring down the next term, −6x, to give −x3 − x2 − 6x.
‘How many times does x2 go into −x3 ?’. The answer is −x times.
Write −x above the x place in x4 + x3 + 7x2 − 6x + 8

Multiply x2 + 2x + 8 by −x, write the answer underneath −x3 − x2 − 6x and subtract to find the
remainder, which is x2 + 2x.
Bring down the next term, 8, to give x2 + 2x + 8.
‘How many times does x2 go into x2 ?’ The answer is 1.
Write 1 above the number place in x4 + x3 + 7x2 − 6x + 8.
Multiply x2 + 2x + 8 by 1, write the answer down underneath x2 + 2x + 8 and subtract to find
the remainder, which is 0.
So we conclude that
x4 + x3 + 7x2 − 6x + 8
= x2 − x + 1
x2 + 2x + 8
Example
What happens if some of the terms are missing from the polynomial into which we are dividing?
The answer is that we leave space for them when we set out the division and write in the answers
to the various small divisions that we do in the places where they would normally go.
x3 − 1
x−1
The calculation is set out as follows:
x2 + x + 1
x − 1 x3 −1
x3 − x2
x2
x2 − x
x−1
x−1
0
We conclude that
x3 − 1
= x2 + x + 1
x−1
Example
What would we do if there was a final remainder, something other than 0 ?
For example, suppose we needed to find
27x3 + 9x2 − 3x − 9
3x − 2
We do exactly the same:
9x2 + 9x + 5
3x − 2 27x + 9x2 − 3x − 9
3
27x3 − 18x2
27x2 − 3x
27x2 − 18x
15x − 9
15x − 10
1

We now have a remainder of 1, which still has to be divided by 3x − 2. Thus our final answer
now is:
27x3 + 9x2 − 3x − 9 1
= 9x2 + 9x + 5 +
3x − 2 3x − 2
Exercises
Use polynomal division to simplify each of the following quotients.
x4 + 3x3 − x2 − x + 6 2x4 − 5x3 + 2x2 + 5x − 10 7x4 − 10x3 + 3x2 + 3x − 3
a) b) c)
x+3 x−2 x−1
2x + 8x3 − 5x2 − 4x + 2
4
3x − x + 8x2 + 5x + 3
4 3
3x + 9x − 5x2 − 6x + 2
4 3
d) e) f)
x2 + 4x − 2 x2 − x + 3 3x2 − 2
x3 − 2x2 − 4 x3 − 4x2 + 9 x4 − 13x − 42
g) h) i)
x−2 x−3 x2 − x − 6
Answers
a) x3 − x + 2 b) 2x3 − x2 + 5 c) 7x3 − 3x2 + 3
d) 2x2 − 1 e) 3x2 + 2x + 1 f) x2 + 3x − 1
g) x2 + 2x + 2 h) x2 − x − 3 i) x2 + x + 7

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Polynomial division

• simplify algebraic fractions by performing polynomial division

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2. Long Division of numbers

Now how was it done ?

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