Dividing a Polynomial by a Monomial

What is a Polynomial? Remember, a polynomial is just a number of terms separated by + and – signs. A term isn’t allowed to be anything too funky, so a polynomial doesn’t have any really weird parts. This is an ordinary polynomial:

What is a Monomial? “Monomial” is just another name for a term. A term isn’t allowed to be anything too funky, so a monomial doesn’t have any really weird parts. This is an ordinary monomial:

A Division Problem What if they ask us to divide a polynomial by a monomial? The problem could look one of three ways. It could look like a plain old division problem:

A Division Problem It could look one of three ways: It could look like a long division problem:

A Division Problem The problem could look one of three ways: It could look like a fraction.

A Division Problem We don’t care how it looks. We’re going to think of it as three separate problems. Part 1:

A Division Problem We don’t care how it looks. We’re going to think of it as three separate problems. Part 2:

A Division Problem We don’t care how it looks. We’re going to think of it as three separate problems. Part 3:

A Division Problem Our answer will be: Wasn’t that easy?

Split the problem into little parts and solve each of them! Dividing by a Monomial Split the problem into little parts and solve each of them!