SOLUTION: Use the factor theorem and synthetic division to determine whether or not the first polynomial is a factor of the second. (x + 1); x^4 + 4x^3 - 7x + 99 I worked on this mysel

Algebra ->  Polynomials-and-rational-expressions -> SOLUTION: Use the factor theorem and synthetic division to determine whether or not the first polynomial is a factor of the second. (x + 1); x^4 + 4x^3 - 7x + 99 I worked on this mysel      Log On


   

Question 920396: Use the factor theorem and synthetic division to determine whether or not the first polynomial is a factor of the second.
(x + 1); x^4 + 4x^3 - 7x + 99
I worked on this myself, and this is as far as I got:
(-1)^4 + 4 (-1)^3 - 7 (-1) + 99 which turns into...
... 1 - 4 + 7 + 99 = 103.
I haven't gone into synthetic division, and I'm not sure if I got this right to begin with, please correct me if I'm wrong.
Thank you!
Answer by josgarithmetic(39621) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The resulting quotient coefficients are 1, 3, -3, -4; and a remainder of 103 results.

x%2B1 is not a factor of the polynomial. You can use regular polynomial division if you are not yet familiar with synthetic division, but synthetic division can be faster for this exercise.