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Example

Finding the Quotient 10x2+5x205x\frac{10x^2 + 5x - 20}{5x}

Divide a trinomial by a variable monomial where one term does not contain the variable: 10x2+5x205x\frac{10x^2 + 5x - 20}{5x}.

Step 1 — Separate the terms. Split the fraction so that each term of the numerator is divided individually by the denominator: 10x25x+5x5x205x\frac{10x^2}{5x} + \frac{5x}{5x} - \frac{20}{5x}.

Step 2 — Simplify each fraction. For the first term: divide the coefficients 105=2\frac{10}{5} = 2 and apply the Quotient Property x2x=x21=x\frac{x^2}{x} = x^{2-1} = x, giving 2x2x. For the second term: 5x5x=1\frac{5x}{5x} = 1 (both the coefficient and the variable cancel completely). For the third term: divide the coefficients 205=4\frac{20}{5} = 4, but the numerator has no variable xx to cancel with the xx in the denominator, so the variable remains below the fraction bar: 205x=4x\frac{20}{5x} = \frac{4}{x}.

The quotient is 2x+14x2x + 1 - \frac{4}{x}. This example illustrates that when a polynomial term (here, the constant 20-20) does not contain the variable present in the monomial divisor, the simplified fraction retains that variable in its denominator rather than producing a whole-number or polynomial term.

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Updated 2026-04-21

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