Correct answer: AThe direct answer is option A: \(r=5\) or \(r=6\). A linear polynomial in x has the form \(ax+b\), where the coefficient a must be nonzero. Here the coefficient of x is \(r^2-11r+30\). The expression stops being linear when this coefficient becomes zero, leaving the constant polynomial 8. Solve \(r^2-11r+30=0\). Factoring gives \((r-5)(r-6)=0\), so \(r=5\) or \(r=6\). Option A is correct. Option B, \(r=0\) or \(r=30\), does not make the coefficient zero: it gives 30 or 600, respectively. Option C, \(r=11\), gives \(121-121+30=30\), so the polynomial remains linear. Option D, “no value”, is wrong because two values have been found. At either 5 or 6, the expression becomes 8, a constant polynomial, not a linear polynomial. Exam cue: for \(ax+b\), check whether the coefficient of x is zero; do not confuse the coefficient with the constant term.