Introduced to in Math 117
Rules
- If Q factors into a product of n distinct linear factors, Q(x) = (x-a
)(x-a ) … (x-a ) , then = + + … - If Q has a quadratic factor (x
+ bx + c), then decomposition contains the term: - If (x-a)
is a repeated linear factor of Q then the decomposition contains the terms: + + … + - If (x
+ bx + c) is a repeated quadratic factor of Q, then the decomposition contains the terms: + … - It is always possible to factor Q(x) into a product linear factors and/or quadratic factors