Q. The polynomial p(x)=x3+3x2−4 has a known factor of (x−1).Rewrite p(x) as a product of linear factors.p(x)=
Factor Finding: Since we know that (x−1) is a factor of p(x), we can use polynomial long division or synthetic division to divide p(x) by (x−1) to find the other factors.
Synthetic Division: Let's perform synthetic division using the root corresponding to the factor (x−1), which is x=1.We set up the synthetic division as follows:\begin{array}{r|rrrr}
1 & 1 & 3 & 0 & -4 \
& & 1 & 4 & 4 \
\hline
& 1 & 4 & 4 & 0
\end{array}The numbers on the bottom row, after the line, give us the coefficients of the quotient polynomial.
Quotient Polynomial: The quotient polynomial is x2+4x+4. Since the remainder is 0, this confirms that (x−1) is indeed a factor of p(x).
Factoring Quadratic Polynomial: Now we need to factor the quadratic polynomial x2+4x+4. This is a perfect square trinomial, which can be factored as (x+2)2.
Final Expression: Therefore, we can express p(x) as a product of its linear factors: p(x)=(x−1)(x+2)2.
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