Final answer:
To verify if the given binomial (n - 4) is a factor of the polynomial p(x) = n^3 - n^2 - 6n - 24, we can use the synthetic division method. Perform synthetic division and observe if the remainder is zero.
Step-by-step explanation:
To verify if the given binomial (n - 4) is a factor of the polynomial p(x) = n^3 - n^2 - 6n - 24, we can use the synthetic division method. Here are the steps:
- Write the polynomial in descending order of degrees: p(x) = n^3 - n^2 - 6n - 24.
- Set up the synthetic division table, placing the binomial divisor (n - 4) on the left and the coefficients of the polynomial on the right.
- Perform the synthetic division by dividing each coefficient by the leading coefficient of the binomial divisor:
4 | 1 -1 -6 -24
-0
4 12 24
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1 3 6 0
The remainder is 0, which means that (n - 4) is a factor of the polynomial p(x).