Division of Polynomials

Division of polynomials may look difficult,

but it follows the same rules we have
already learned for properties of real
numbers as well as for division of real
numbers.
Divide a Polynomial by a Monomial
To divide a polynomial by a monomial, each term is divided by
that monomial. Example: (40x2 - 15x + 5) ÷ 5
•We will first write the problem in fraction
format.
•We know that when we add or subtract
fractions with a common denominator, we
merely add or subtract the numerators,
and the denominator remains the same.
So we can rewrite the problem with each
term over that common denominator.
•Then we simplify each term to get the
final result
To check: Use distributive property to multiply:
5(8x2 – 3x +1) = 40x2 – 15x + 5
Divide a Polynomial by a Monomial
Here is another example dividing a polynomial by a monomial
where the monomial divisor contains a variable:
(12x3 + 24x2 - 8x) ÷ 4x
•We will first write the problem in fraction
format.

•Again, we can rewrite the problem with

each term over the common denominator.

•Then we simplify each term to get the final

result

To check: Use distributive property to multiply:

4x(3x2 + 6x - 2) = 12x3 + 24x2 – 8x
 Divide a Polynomial by a Polynomial
If we are dividing a polynomial by another polynomial, it does not
help us to rewrite each term over the divisor. For example, to
rewrite (2x2 + x - 3) ÷ (x - 1) as only makes the
problem more complicated.
As an alternative, we can use long division in the same way it is
used for division of real numbers. We write the problem using
the division symbol .

quotient
divisor The first step in dividing is to look at the
2x first term of the divisor (x) and
x–1 2x2 + x – 3 determine how many times it divides
into the first term of the dividend, i.e.
what would we multiply by x to get 2x2?
dividend The result (2x) is written over the x term
in the dividend
Divide a Polynomial by a Polynomial

2x Next we multiply the partial

x–1 2x2 + x – 3 quotient (2x) by the divisor
(x - 1), and place the result below
2x2 – 2x the dividend, lining up the terms

Then we subtract that result from

2x the corresponding terms in the
x – 1 2x2 + x – 3 dividend and bring down the next
-(2x2 – 2x) term. Note that we are subtracting
negative 2x which is the same as
3x – 3 adding a positive 2x
Divide a Polynomial by a Polynomial

2x + 3 Next, we determine how many

x – 1 2x2 + x – 3 times x divides into 3x and place
-(2x2 – 2x) the result (3) over the constant
term in the dividend.
3x - 3

2x + 3 Multiply the 3 by (x – 1) and place

x – 1 2x2 + x – 3 the result under the dividend and
-(2x2 – 2x) subtract. We get a remainder of 0
and there are no more terms, so
3x - 3 our result is 2x +3.
-(3x - 3)
0
 Check the Answer
To check, use the FOIL method to multiply.
(x – 1) • ( 2x + 3)
• First: (x) • (2x) = 2x2
• Outer: (x) • (3) = 3x
• Inner: (-1) • (2x) = -2x
• Last: (-1) • (3) = -3
• Result: 2x2 + 3x – 2x – 3 = 2x2 + x - 3
 Division of Polynomials
Another example: (16z3 + 7 – 4z2) ÷ (2z -1)
Before we can start the division process we need to rearrange the
terms in the dividend, so that they are in descending order of
powers. Also note that we have z3 and z2 terms, but no z term.
We will place a z term in our dividend with a coefficient of 0 to
use as a placeholder.

We have rearranged the terms in the

8z2 dividend, and found our first partial
2z – 1 16z3 – 4z2 + 0z + 7 quotient of 8z2, since 2z • 8z2 = 16z3 .
16z3 – 8z2
Next we multiply 8z2 by (2z -1) and place
the result below the dividend lining up
the terms with like powers.
 Division of Polynomials
8z2 + 2z Next subtract the first partial
product; we get a result of 4z2 and
2z – 1 16z3 – 4z2 + 0z + 7 bring down the 0z.
-(16z3 – 8z2 ) Performing the next division: Since
4z2 + 0z 2z • 2z gives us 4z2, we write the 2z
in the z term position in the
quotient.

8z2 + 2z
2z – 1 16z3 – 4z2 + 0z + 7 Now we multiply the 2z by our
-(16z3 – 8z2 ) divisor, write the result below, and
perform another subtraction.
4z2 + 0z
-(4z2 - 2z)
2z
 Division of Polynomials

8z2 + 2z + 1
2z – 1 16z3 – 4z2 + 0z + 7 Bring down the 7 and perform
-(16z3 – 8z2 ) another division. 2z times 1 will
4z2 + 0z produce the 2z in our new
expression. So we continue to
-(4z2 - 2z)
build our quotient with a +1, and
2z + 7 we multiply that 1 by the divisor
-(2z - 1) and write the result below.
8 We perform another subtraction
and get a remainder of 8.
 Division of Polynomials

8z2 + 2z + 1 +
2z – 1 16z3 – 4z2 + 0z + 7
-(16z3 – 8z2 ) Since we have a remainder and
4z2 + 0z no additional terms to bring
-(4z2 - 2z) down, we express that
2z + 7 remainder as a fraction by
-(2z - 1) placing the 8 over the divisor
of 2z – 1.
8
 Check the Answer
To check, we need to multiply (2z -1) (8z2 + 2z + 1 + )
We can’t use the FOIL method because our second factor
has more than two terms, so we need to multiply each term
in the second factor by (2z -1).

8z2(2z-1) + 2z(2z-1) + 1(2z-1) + (2z-1)

16z3 - 8z2 + 4z2 - 2z + 2z – 1 + 8 Multiply each term

16z3 - 4z2 + 7 Combine like terms

The result matches our original dividend

so our answer is correct.