PolynomialDivision is the extension of LongDivision to polynomials or probably arbitrary fields ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_%28mathematics%29 ). Example: (2x^2 + 3x + 1) / (x + 2) = -(2x(x + 2)) 2x ------------ -x + 1 -(-(x + 2)) -1 ----------- 3 Remainder 3 i.e. = 2x -1 + 3/(x + 2) Helpful for simplification and when solving for roots ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_%28mathematics%29 ). ''I find the above layout unreadable. I prefer this:'' 2x - 1 +------------------------ x + 2 | 2x^2 + 3x + 1 2x^2 + 4x ----------- -x + 1 -x - 2 ---------- + 3 ''So 2x^2 + 3x + 1 = (x+2)*(2x-1) + 3'' ---- CategoryMath