# remainder

• September 18th 2009, 06:00 AM
mark
remainder
hi, the question i've got is,

find the remainder when the polynomial P(x) is divided by the linear expression f(x):

$P(x) = x^3 + 2$
$f(x) = x + 1$

i came up with remainder 2 but the book says its 1. can someone explain this to me?

thankyou
• September 18th 2009, 06:10 AM
Plato
Quote:

Originally Posted by mark
find the remainder when the polynomial P(x) is divided by the linear expression f(x):
$P(x) = x^3 + 2$
$f(x) = x + 1$
i came up with 2 but the book says its 1. can someone explain this to me?

By the remainder theorem it is just $P(-1)$.
• September 18th 2009, 06:20 AM
stapel
Quote:

Originally Posted by mark
i came up with remainder 2 but the book says its 1. can someone explain this to me?

Until we can see what you've done, I'm afraid there is no way to explain what error you might have made. Sorry! (Blush)
• September 18th 2009, 06:32 AM
mark
ah, i've actually realised its got to be 1, i wasn't using the proper steps when figuring it out. sorry about that people.