Question

Divide using synthetic division

2x^2 + x - 10 by x - 2

a. 2x - 5
b. 2x + 5
c. x - 5
d. x + 5

Answer 1

do it with your eyeballs

Answer 2

think about what you would have to multiply x - 2 by to get
\[2x^2+x-10\]

Answer 3

first term has to be 2x
last term has to be 5

Answer 4

alright minus or plus

Answer 5

plus

Answer 6

The 2 should be factored out so that you work with a polynomial having a leading coefficient of 1: P(x) = 2*(x^2 + (1/2)*x - 5.
Set up your synthetic division as follows:

2) 1 (1/2) -5
2 5
1 5/2 0.

The quotient is x + 5/2. We need to double that to account for the deuce we factored out earlier.

The answer is 2x + 5.