CAIE P2 2015 November — Question 4

Exam BoardCAIE
ModuleP2 (Pure Mathematics 2)
Year2015
SessionNovember
TopicFactor & Remainder Theorem
TypeTrigonometric substitution equations

4 The polynomial \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\) is defined by $$\mathrm { p } ( x ) = 6 x ^ { 3 } + 11 x ^ { 2 } + a x + a$$ where \(a\) is a constant. It is given that \(( x + 2 )\) is a factor of \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\).
  1. Use the factor theorem to show that \(a = - 4\).
  2. When \(a = - 4\),
    (a) factorise \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\) completely,
    (b) solve the equation \(6 \sec ^ { 3 } \theta + 11 \sec ^ { 2 } \theta + a \sec \theta + a = 0\) for \(0 ^ { \circ } \leqslant \theta \leqslant 180 ^ { \circ }\).