Question

Eric used a remainder theorem to find the remainder of 2x^3 - 4x^2 - 8 my + 1 divided by x - 3. If he calculated the remainder to be -5, what does that tell him?

Answer 1

The remainder is non-zero, so $x-3$ is not a factor of $2x^3-4x^2-8$ (or whatever the given polynomial is supposed to be)