Division of Polynomial Functions
Long Division of Polynomials
Long division of polynomials is a lot like long division of real numbers. If the polynomials involved were written in fraction form, the numerator would be the dividend, and the denominator would be the divisor.
Rule 1: To find the quotient of two polynomials using long division we follow the steps listed below:
Step 1: Write dividend and divisor polynomials in standard polynomial form. Use zero coefficients for powers of the variable which are missing in the dividend and divisor.
Step 2: Divide first term of the divisor into the first term of the dividend. Put this quotient above term in the dividend.
Step 3: Multiply quotient by all terms of the divisor and put products under the appropriate terms of the dividend.
Step 4: Subtract (change signs on bottom polynomial and add) and bring down remaining terms.
Step 5: Continue to divide first term by first term until the power of the divisor is larger than the power in the dividend.
Find out more about division of polynomial functions below.
Division of Polynomial Functions
Practice: Divide one polynomial by another polynomial and find the quotient and remainder in the following exercises.