algebra help

Question

In a polynomial division problem, the dividend does not have an x⁴-term. When the problem is written in long division form, what should be the coefficient of thex⁴-term in the dividend?

 

Answer 1

If the polynomial in the dividend is missing certain terms, such as the x⁴ term, be sure to include the missing terms in the dividend with a coefficient of zero (0).  For example, write:

       _______________

x-2 ) x⁵ - 3x³ + 5

 

as:

       _______________________________

x-2 ) x⁵ + 0x⁴ - 3x³ + 0x² + 0x + 5