How do you divide #(x^4 - 16) /( x + 2)#?

1 Answer
Oct 26, 2015

The answer is# (x + 2)(x^2 + 4)# = #x^3 - 2x^2 +4x -8#

Explanation:

Factorise #(x^4 - 16)# as it is the difference of 2 squares
You then get
#((x^2 - 4)(x^2 + 4))/(x + 2)#

#x^2 - 4# is also the difference of 2 squares and will factorise to #(x - 2)(x + 2)#
so this gives you #((x - 2)(x + 2)(x^2 +4))/(x + 2)#
The #(x + 2)# terms cancel out to give you
#(x - 2)(x^2 + 4)#