Find the equation of the linear function represented by the table below in slope-intercept form. x y
1 -3
2 -5
3 -7
4 -9

Synthetic division is a shorthand, or shortcut, method of polynomial division in the special case of dividing by a linear factor -- and it only works in this case. synthetic division is generally used, however, not for dividing out factors but for finding zeroes (or roots) of polynomials.