CAIE P2 2012 June — Question 3

Exam BoardCAIE
ModuleP2 (Pure Mathematics 2)
Year2012
SessionJune
TopicFactor & Remainder Theorem
TypeFind constant, factorise completely

3 The polynomial \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\) is defined by $$\mathrm { p } ( x ) = a x ^ { 3 } - 3 x ^ { 2 } - 5 x + a + 4 ,$$ where \(a\) is a constant.
  1. Given that \(( x - 2 )\) is a factor of \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\), find the value of \(a\).
  2. When \(a\) has this value,
    (a) factorise \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\) completely,
    (b) find the remainder when \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\) is divided by \(( x + 1 )\).