Polynomial Division

PolynomialDivision is the extension of LongDivision to polynomials or probably arbitrary fields ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_%28mathematics%29 ).

Example:


        (2x^2 + 3x + 1) / (x + 2) =

        -(2x(x + 2))                 2x

        ------------

        -x + 1

        -(-(x + 2))            -1

        -----------

Remainder 3

i.e. = 2x -1 + 3/(x + 2)

Helpful for simplification and when solving for roots ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_%28mathematics%29 ).

I find the above layout unreadable. I prefer this:

x - 1


        +------------------------

        x + 2 |  2x^2 + 3x + 1

x^2 + 4x


        -----------

        -x   + 1

        -x   - 2

        ----------

        + 3

So 2x^2 + 3x + 1 = (x+2)*(2x-1) + 3

CategoryMath