Question

Using the distributive property to find the product (y−4x)(y2+4y+16) results in a polynomial of the form y3+4y2+ay−4xy2−axy−64x. What is the value of a in the polynomial?

4
8
16
32

Answer 1

Multiply: y(y^2+4y+16) = y^3+4y^2+16y and -4x(y^2+4y+16) = -4xy^2-16xy-64x.
So the product is y^3+4y^2+16y-4xy^2-16xy-64x, hence a = 16.