Synthetic Division

Objectives: Students will learn the synthetic division algorithm for a linear divisor.
Students will extend the algorithm to the quadratic divisor case.

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1. When is the remainder 0? What coefficient in the original expression changes to change the remainder?
2. In terms of long division with polynomials, why does synthetic division work?
3. What is the difference between linear synthetic division and quadratic synthetic division?
4. How could this algorithm be extended to work for a cubic divisor?

Elise Holt, 12 November 2013, Created with GeoGebra