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polynomial division

Problem Solving — algebra and arithmetic (GMAT Focus Edition)
Expert replies
Source: — Quantitative Reasoning |

by iamseer » Tue Apr 27, 2010 1:46 pm
IMO answer 3

just simply divide the polynomial with (x-1)
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by sidon » Wed Apr 28, 2010 11:40 am
Can you please elaborate more on how ?

Thanks.
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by 4GMAT_Mumbai » Wed Apr 28, 2010 11:52 am
Hi Sidon,

This is an application of the remainder theorem as described in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynomial ... er_theorem

If the requirement is that the numerator is divisible by (x-1), the remainder is 0.

If the remainder is 0, it implies that f(1) should be equal to 0.

Just substituting x = 1 in the numerator equation and equating it to 0 yields the value of 'k' to be 3.

Hope this helps.
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