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algebra intermediate

Problem

Let be a polynomial such that when is divided by , the remainder is , and when is divided by , the remainder is . What is the remainder when is divided by ?
Solution
Since we are dividing by a quadratic, our remainder will have degree at most . Hence the remainder is of the form for some constants and . We have where is the quotient when is divided by . We can eliminate the term by plugging in or . Using the Remainder Theorem, each gives us an equation: Solving this system gives us and , and hence the remainder when is divided by is .
Final answer
2x-20