CAIE P2 2013 June — Question 4

Exam BoardCAIE
ModuleP2 (Pure Mathematics 2)
Year2013
SessionJune
TopicFactor & Remainder Theorem
TypeOne factor, one non-zero remainder

4 The polynomial \(a x ^ { 3 } - 5 x ^ { 2 } + b x + 9\), where \(a\) and \(b\) are constants, is denoted by \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\). It is given that \(( 2 x + 3 )\) is a factor of \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\), and that when \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\) is divided by \(( x + 1 )\) the remainder is 8 .
  1. Find the values of \(a\) and \(b\).
  2. When \(a\) and \(b\) have these values, factorise \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\) completely.