CAIE P2 2016 November — Question 4

Exam BoardCAIE
ModuleP2 (Pure Mathematics 2)
Year2016
SessionNovember
TopicFactor & Remainder Theorem
TypeFind constants using remainder theorem

4 The polynomial \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\) is defined by $$\mathrm { p } ( x ) = 4 x ^ { 3 } + a x ^ { 2 } + a x + 4$$ where \(a\) is a constant.
  1. Use the factor theorem to show that ( \(x + 1\) ) is a factor of \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\) for all values of \(a\).
  2. Given that the remainder is - 42 when \(\mathrm { p } ( x )\) is divided by ( \(x - 2\) ), find the value of \(a\).
  3. When \(a\) has the value found in part (ii), factorise \(\mathrm { p } \left( x ^ { 2 } \right)\) completely.