Factoring: a General Strategy We now combine all of our factoring techniques and consider a general strategy for factoring polynomials. Here we will encounter polynomials of all the types we…
Month: May 2014
Sums or Differences of Cubes
Sums or Differences of Cubes We can factor the sum or the difference of two expressions that are cubes. Consider the following products: (A + B) (A2 – AB +…
Factoring Differences of Squares
Factoring Differences of Squares To factor a difference of squares, we use the following equation. A2 – B2 = (A + B) (A – B) To factor a difference…
Recognizing Differences of Squares
Recognizing Differences of Squares The following polynomials are differences of squares: X2 – 9, 4t2 – 49, a2 – 25b Difference Of Squares A2 – B2 = (A + B)…
FACTORING TRINOMIAL SQUARES
FACTORING TRINOMIAL SQUARES A2 + 2AB + B2 = (A + B)2; A2 – 2AB + B2 = (A – B)2 We consider 3 to be a square…
Recognizing Trinomial Squares
Recognizing Trinomial Squares Some trinomials are squares of binomials. For example, the trinomial x2 + 10x + 25 is the square of the binomial x + 5. To see…
The ac- Method
The ac- Method Another method for factoring trinomials of the type ax2 + bx + c, a ≠ 1 , involves the product, ac, of the leading coefficient a and…
TIPS FOR FACTORING ax^2 + bx + c, a ≠ 1
TIPS FOR FACTORING ax2 + bx + c, a ≠ 1 a. Always factor out the largest common factor, if one exists. b. Once the common factor has been factored…
THE FOIL METHOD
THE FOIL METHOD To factor ax + bx + c , a ≠1 , using the FOIL method:
TO FACTOR x^2 + bx + c
TO FACTOR x2 + bx + c a. First arrange in descending order. b. Use a trial-and-error process that looks for factors of c whose sum is b. c. If c is positive, the signs of the factors are…
Recent Comments