Divide the polynomial 12x^2+2x−9 by 4x−2 . Then express the polynomial as the product of the divisor and the quotient plus the remainder.

1 answer

To divide the polynomial \( 12x^2 + 2x - 9 \) by \( 4x - 2 \), we can use polynomial long division.

  1. Set up the division: We want to divide \( 12x^2 + 2x - 9 \) by \( 4x - 2 \).

  2. Divide the leading terms: Divide the leading term of the dividend \( 12x^2 \) by the leading term of the divisor \( 4x \): \[ \frac{12x^2}{4x} = 3x \]

  3. Multiply the entire divisor by this result: Multiply \( 3x \) by \( 4x - 2 \): \[ 3x(4x - 2) = 12x^2 - 6x \]

  4. Subtract this from the original polynomial: \[ (12x^2 + 2x - 9) - (12x^2 - 6x) = 2x + 6x - 9 = 8x - 9 \]

  5. Repeat the process: Now divide the leading term of the new polynomial \( 8x \) by the leading term of the divisor \( 4x \): \[ \frac{8x}{4x} = 2 \]

  6. Multiply the entire divisor by this new result: Multiply \( 2 \) by \( 4x - 2 \): \[ 2(4x - 2) = 8x - 4 \]

  7. Subtract this from the recent result: \[ (8x - 9) - (8x - 4) = -9 + 4 = -5 \]

At this point, we have reached the remainder of \(-5\).

Final Result

Now we can express our original polynomial division as: \[ 12x^2 + 2x - 9 = (4x - 2)(3x + 2) - 5 \]

Thus, the polynomial \( 12x^2 + 2x - 9 \) divided by \( 4x - 2 \) yields a quotient of \( 3x + 2 \) and a remainder of \(-5\).