How to divide a polynomial with long division with remainder theorem?
Answers
The Remainder Theorem is useful for evaluating polynomials at a given value of x, though it might not seem so, at least at first blush. This is because the tool is presented as a theorem with a proof, and you probably don't feel ready for proofs at this stage in your studies. Fortunately, you don't "have" to understand the proof of the Theorem; you just need to understand how to use the Theorem.
The Remainder Theorem starts with an unnamed polynomial p(x), where "p(x)" just means "some polynomial p whose variable is x". Then the Theorem talks about dividing that polynomial by some linear factor x – a, where a is just some number. Then, as a result of the long polynomial division, you end up with some polynomial answer q(x) (the "q" standing for "the quotient polynomial") and some polynomial remainder r(x).