Polynomial long division

In algebra, polynomial long division is an algorithm for dividing a polynomial by another polynomial of the same or lower degree, a generalized version of the familiar arithmetic technique called long division. It can be done easily by hand, because it separates an otherwise complex division problem into smaller ones. Sometimes using a shorthand version called synthetic division is faster, with less writing and fewer calculations. Another abbreviated method is polynomial short division (Blomqvist's method). Polynomial long division is an algorithm that implements the Euclidean division of polynomials, which starting from two polynomials A (the dividend) and B (the divisor) produces, if B is not zero, a quotient Q and a remainder R such that A = BQ + R, and either R = 0 or the degree of R is lower than the degree of B. These conditions uniquely define Q and R, which means that Q and R do not depend on the method used to compute them. The result R = 0 occurs if and only if the polynomial A has B as a factor. Thus long division is a means for testing whether one polynomial has another as a factor, and, if it does, for factoring it out. For example, if a root r of A is known, it can be factored out by dividing A by (x – r). Find the quotient and the remainder of the division of the dividend, by the divisor. The dividend is first rewritten like this: The quotient and remainder can then be determined as follows: Divide the first term of the dividend by the highest term of the divisor (meaning the one with the highest power of x, which in this case is x). Place the result above the bar (x3 ÷ x = x2). Multiply the divisor by the result just obtained (the first term of the eventual quotient). Write the result under the first two terms of the dividend (x2 · (x − 3) = x3 − 3x2). Subtract the product just obtained from the appropriate terms of the original dividend (being careful that subtracting something having a minus sign is equivalent to adding something having a plus sign), and write the result underneath ((x3 − 2x2) − (x3 − 3x2) = −2x2 + 3x2 = x2).

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Polynomial long division

Algebra

Algebra () is the study of variables and the rules for manipulating these variables in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary algebra deals with the manipulation of variables (commonly represented by Roman letters) as if they were numbers and is therefore essential in all applications of mathematics. Abstract algebra is the name given, mostly in education, to the study of algebraic structures such as groups, rings, and fields.

Polynomial greatest common divisor

In algebra, the greatest common divisor (frequently abbreviated as GCD) of two polynomials is a polynomial, of the highest possible degree, that is a factor of both the two original polynomials. This concept is analogous to the greatest common divisor of two integers. In the important case of univariate polynomials over a field the polynomial GCD may be computed, like for the integer GCD, by the Euclidean algorithm using long division. The polynomial GCD is defined only up to the multiplication by an invertible constant.