Division of Polynomials

The steps involved in the process of division of a polynomial by another polynomial are:

Step 1

Arrange the terms of both the polynomials in decreasing powers of the variable common to both the polynomials.

Step 2

Divide the first term of the dividend by the first term of the divisor to obtain the first term of the quotient.

Step 3

Multiply all the terms of the divisor by the first term of the quotient and subtract the result from the dividend, to obtain a remainder (as next dividend).

Step 4

Divide the first term of the resulting dividend by the first term of the divisor and write the result as the second term of the quotient.

Step 5

Multiply all the terms of the divisor by the second term of the quotient and subtract the result from the resulting dividend of Step 4.

Step 6

Repeat the process of Steps 4 and 5, till you get either the remainder zero or a polynomial having the highest exponent of the variable lower than that of the divisor.