I originally wrote this synthetic division post years ago after making a cheat sheet to help our inclusion algebra 2 students with synthetic division. All these years later I am back to update the post with a synthetic division video to go along with the free math cheat sheet download.
Synthetic division, sort of like long division, is a pretty simple process that isn't at all intuitive. It's a great way to find the zeros of a polynomial, especially those with imaginary zeros, but it is an algorithm that needs memorizing and reviewing.
The year I made this sheet we were getting ready for our mid-year exam and were in the middle of our polynomials unit. A quiz was coming up and I realized some kids could use a little extra support with synthetic division. So I made this cheat sheet for them to put in their notebooks. Now coming back to this post to update it all these years later, I wanted to update the post with a video.
The year I made this sheet we were getting ready for our mid-year exam and were in the middle of our polynomials unit. A quiz was coming up and I realized some kids could use a little extra support with synthetic division. So I made this cheat sheet for them to put in their notebooks. Now coming back to this post to update it all these years later, I wanted to update the post with a video.
Why do we use synthetic division to divide polynomials?
We use synthetic division to find the zeros of a polynomial, even those that have imaginary zeros where the graph's number of real zeros does not match its degree. In our algebra 2 class we use synthetic division. Because I know other algebra 2 classes also learn polynomial long division, I made a reference sheet for that method, too.
Isn't teaching all about revisiting materials and making edits? I'm coming back to this post again, 10 years after its original publish date to make another update. The original cheat sheet (in the green-bordered photo above) was bothering me this year because 5 showed up in the zero and in the sums. The photo just above this paragraph is the most recent version of this cheat sheet. The steps have also been simplified a bit.
We use synthetic division to find the zeros of a polynomial, even those that have imaginary zeros where the graph's number of real zeros does not match its degree. In our algebra 2 class we use synthetic division. Because I know other algebra 2 classes also learn polynomial long division, I made a reference sheet for that method, too.
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| Free synthetic division reference sheet download |
We're also going to have students work on the paper version of this dividing polynomials escape room. It also comes as a self-checking digital math escape room in Google Forms.
We're also getting into sketching polynomials soon, and students will work on these sketching polynomials task cards. We'll probably have them choose to complete 15-20 of a mix of graphing and writing equations problems instead of the entire activity.
This is beautiful. You have a gift for it!
ReplyDeleteThank you Lisa! I realized im my Synthetic Division excitement that I never completed the problem! That'll come tomorrow...:)
DeleteLove this! I just taught this today and would love to give this to my students to add to their folders. Fun and creative, thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you Tyra! :)
DeleteI'm getting ready to teach on Tuesday...thanks for the great reference sheet.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome! :)
DeleteLove the resource sheet! It is so neatly organized and includes everything my students need to know. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou're so welcome! I'm glad to help. I really do have to refresh on this every year. It's such a weird process so I know the kids must be like, "Whaaaaaat?" HA!
DeleteI introduced my students to it earlier this year but am going more in depth soon. This will be a great refresher for them and will hopefully help them understand the process a little better. They had the same reaction as your kids. When I told them they had to multiply and add they looked at me like I had 5 heads and was speaking a foreign language!
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