Remainder Theorem Teaching script

How to find the remainder when 7 is divided by 3? Use long division.

7 3 = 2 remainder 1 7 = Dividend, 3 = Divisor, 2 = Quotient, 1 = Remainder

Notice that 7 = 2 3 + 1 Well, we also can find the remainder of a polynomial when divided by another polynomial using long division. For example: Find the remainder when 2x2 5x 1 divided by x 3.

After dividing we get the answer 2x + 1, and the remainder is 2.

We can write: 2x2 5x 1 = (x 3)(2x + 1) + 2 In general, when a polynomial P(x) is divided by a linear divisor, (x a), give the quotient Q(x) and the remainder R, then P(x) = (x a)Q(x) + R. Now see what happens when you have x = a? P(a) = (a a)Q(a) + R P(a) = R So if you want to know the remainder after dividing by (x a) you don't need to do any division: Just calculate P(a). So we get this: The Remainder Theorem:

When you divide a polynomial P(x) by (x a) the remainder R will be P(a). Let us see that in practice: By using the remainder theorem, find the remainder when P(x) = x3 + x2 5x + 3 is divided by (x 2). R = P(2) = 5. What about when P(x) is divided by (x + a), (ax b) or (ax + b)? What is the remainder? Answers from students. Let us see more examples: By using the remainder theorem, find the remainder when = 2x3 x2 + x + 10 is divided by (x + 2), [-12] (b) P(x) = 3x3 2x2 + x + 2 is divided by (3x + 1). [4/3]
(a) P(x)

Finally, solve these problems.

(a) When

P(x) = 2x3 + ax2 72x 18 is divided by (x + 5), the remainder is 17. Determine the value of a. [a = -3]

(b) When

P(x) = 4x3 + px2 5x + q is divided by (2x + 3), the remainder is -8. When divided by (x 3), the remainder is 10. Find the values of p and q. [ p = -12, q = -25]

If 3 is the factor of 12, then 12 is divisible by 3. This means the remainder is 0. Similarly, if (x a) is the factor of the polynomial P(x), then P(x) is divisible by (x a). This means the remainder, R = 0.

 But R = P(a), that is P(a) =0. So we have: The Factor Theorem:

If (x a) is a factor of P(x), then P(a)=0.

And the other way around, too:

If P(a) = 0, then (x a) is a factor of P(x).

What about when P(-a) = 0, P(b/a) = 0 or P(-b/a) = 0? What is the factor? Answers from students. Let us see that in practice:

the value of p if (x 2) is a factor of P(x) = 6x3 17x2 + px + 12. Hence, factorise P(x) completely. (b) Show that 3x 2 is a factor of the polynomial P(x) = 6x3 7x2 x + 2 and find the other two factors. Solve the equation 6x3 7x2 x + 2 = 0.
(a) Find