FACTOR THEOREM

 

If A is a factor of B then clearly dividing B by A will leave no remainder (or in other words a remainder of 0). For example, 3 is a factor of 12, so  leaves no remainder (or a remainder of 0). This is the basic principle of the Factor Theorem which states that if dividing B by A leaves a remainder of 0, then A must by definition be a factor of B (eg  leaves a remainder of 0, so therefore 5 has to be a factor of 25).

 

The Remainder Theorem finds the remainder, so if the remainder = 0, then the function dividing has to be a factor.

 

Eg is  a factor of  ?

Let,

 

         

 

as the remainder is 0, this implies that  MUST be factor of

 

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