(4x^3-9x+8x^2-18)/(x+2)-use synthetic division to divide. I set it up like this (pretend the parentheses are the synthetic division box).

(-2)
4 8 -27

4 0 -27.

For remainders, according to my book, we're supposed to divide the remainder by the divisor. So it would be -27/-2. Yet my book says there is no remainder. It says the answer is 4x^2-9. How did it get this?

Well Jeremiah, it's as simple as your forgetting the -9x term

try
(-2)
4 8 -9 -18

I get 4 0 -9 0

To perform synthetic division, you set up the dividend, divisor, and synthetic division box, as you correctly did:

Dividend: 4x^3 - 9x + 8x^2 - 18
Divisor: x + 2
Synthetic Division Box:
-2 | 4 8 -9 0
|_________


Next, you bring down the leading coefficient, which is 4, and multiply it by the divisor, which is -2:

-2 | 4 8 -9 0
|_______
|

| -8

Then, add -8 to the second term:

-2 | 4 8 -9 0
|_______
| -8
|

| -8

Next, multiply -8 by the divisor -2:

-2 | 4 8 -9 0
|_______
| -8
| 16

| -8

Add 16 to the third term:

-2 | 4 8 -9 0
|_______
| -8
| 16

| -8

Now, multiply -8 by the divisor -2:

-2 | 4 8 -9 0
|_______
| -8
| 16
| -16

| -8

Add -16 to the fourth term:

-2 | 4 8 -9 0
|_______
| -8
| 16
| -16
| 0

Finally, divide the resulting coefficients by the divisor -2:

-2 | 4 8 -9 0
|_______
| -8
| 16
| -16
| 0

This gives you the quotient: 4x^2 - 8.

So the long division result is:

4x^2 - 8

Since there is no remainder, we can ignore it.

Therefore, the correct answer is 4x^2 - 8, not 4x^2 - 9. It seems like there might be an error in your book.

To divide the polynomial (4x^3-9x+8x^2-18) by (x+2) using synthetic division, you set up the synthetic division box like this:

-2 | 4 8 0 -18

To begin, bring down the first coefficient, which is 4, to the bottom row:

-2 | 4
----

Next, multiply the divisor, -2, by the number you just brought down and write the result under the next coefficient:

-2 | 4
-8
----

Add the two numbers in the second row to get the new result:

-2 | 4 0
-8
----
-8

Repeat the process by multiplying the divisor, -2, by the new result (-8 in this case) and write the result under the next coefficient:

-2 | 4 0 -8
-8
----
-8

Add the numbers in the second row to get the new result:

-2 | 4 0 -8
-8
----
-8

Since we have reached the last coefficient, the numbers in the bottom row represent the coefficients of the quotient:

-2 | 4 0 -8
-8
----
-8

Therefore, the quotient is 4x^2 + 0x - 8, which simplifies to 4x^2 - 8.

There is no remainder in this case, which means that the polynomial is evenly divisible by (x + 2). The book's answer of 4x^2 - 9 appears to be incorrect because it does not align with the synthetic division results.