What is the remainder when the polynomial x³ + 4x² + 12x + 9 is divided by x²?

To find the remainder when the polynomial x³ + 4x² + 12x + 9 is divided by , we can use polynomial long division or simply substitute the variable to evaluate the polynomial’s remainder directly.

Since we’re dividing by , the remainder will be a polynomial of degree less than 2. This means we can express the remainder in the form:

R(x) = ax + b

where a and b are constants. Now, we can express the original polynomial as:

x³ + 4x² + 12x + 9 = Q(x) * x² + R(x)

where Q(x) is the quotient polynomial.

Next, we carry out polynomial division:

  1. 1. Divide the leading term of the dividend, , by the leading term of the divisor, , which gives us x.
  2. 2. Multiply x by the entire divisor to get and subtract it from the original polynomial:
(x³ + 4x² + 12x + 9) - (x³) = 4x² + 12x + 9
  1. 3. Now, take the resulting polynomial 4x² + 12x + 9 and divide the leading term 4x² by , which results in 4.
  2. 4. Multiply 4 by and subtract:
(4x² + 12x + 9) - (4x²) = 12x + 9

5. Now, the next step is to realize that the remainder will no longer have terms that can be divided by . This leads us to the conclusion that:

R(x) = 12x + 9

Thus, the remainder when x³ + 4x² + 12x + 9 is divided by is:

12x + 9

In summary, the final answer is:

12x + 9

This remainder gives us the leftover portion of the original polynomial when divided by .

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