After multiplying two polynomials together, the number of terms in your
expression before simplifying should equal the number of terms in one
polynomial multiplied by the number of terms in the second. In the example
above, you should have 3 × 2 = 6 terms in the product before you simplify like
terms.
DIVIDING POLYNOMIALS
To divide polynomials, you can use long division. For example, to divide 2 x^3 +
13 x^2 + 11x – 16 by x + 5:
The first term of the quotient is 2 x^2 , because that’s what will give you a 2 x^3 as
a first term when you multiply it by x + 5:
Subtract and continue in the same way as when dividing numbers: