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| 10 Theory slides |
| 10 Exercises - Grade E - A |
| Each lesson is meant to take 1-2 classroom sessions |
Here are a few recommended readings before getting started with this lesson.
There can be different methods for factoring a quadratic expression, depending on its type. If the expression is the square of a binomial, it can be factored as a perfect square trinomial.
A perfect square trinomial is a trinomial that can be written as the square of a binomial. There are two general types of perfect square trinomials that can be useful when dealing with quadratic functions or quadratic equations.
Perfect Square Trinomial | Square of Binomial |
---|---|
a2+2ab+b2 | (a+b)2 |
a2−2ab+b2 | (a−b)2 |
Jordan has two copies of the same square painting, and she wants to frame these copies. The area of each painting is represented by a quadratic expression.
Begin by determining whether the expressions are perfect square trinomials.
Expression | First Term | Last Term |
---|---|---|
49x2−56x+16 | 49x2=(7x)2 | 16=(4)2 |
16x2+24x+9 | 16x2=(4x)2 | 9=(3)2 |
Since the first and last terms are perfect squares, the trinomials are probably perfect square trinomials. To be sure, check whether the middle terms are two times the square roots of the first and last terms.
Expression | First Term | Last Term | Middle Term |
---|---|---|---|
49x2−56x+16 | 49x2=(7x)2 | 16=(4)2 | 56x=2⋅7x⋅4 |
16x2+24x+9 | 16x2=(4x)2 | 9=(3)2 | 24x=2⋅4x⋅3 |
See solution.
Determining if the trinomial is a perfect square trinomial, then factor it.
Looking at the given answers, both Ali and Jordan consider that the given expression is a perfect square trinomial because both find the square of a binomial.
Note that the product of two conjugate binomials results in a difference of two squares. Therefore, the difference of two squares can be factored out using reverse thinking.
The volume of a rectangular prism is given by the expression 81x4−16.
(9x2+4), (3x+2), and (3x−2)
Factor the expression that represents the volume of the prism.
Split into factors
a⋅a=a2
am⋅bm=(a⋅b)m
Tadeo's older brother is in college. He currently lives in a one-room square apartment, from which a small square is cut out as shown in the diagram.
He wants to move to a rectangular room with the same area as his current room.
Therefore, the area of the larger square and the area of the smaller square need to be found first. Recall that area of a square is the square of its side length.
Square | Side Length, s | Area, s2 |
---|---|---|
Larger Square | 4n+1 | (4n+1)2 |
Smaller Square | 5 | 52 |
a2−b2=(a+b)(a−b)
Add and subtract terms
Two square windows of a house and their areas are shown in the given image.
Write an expression that represents the difference between the areas of the windows. Show two different ways to find the solution.
Expression | First Term | Last Term |
---|---|---|
25x2−30x+9 | 25x2=(5x)2 | 9=(3)2 |
x2−14x+49 | x2=(x)2 | 49=(7)2 |
Since the first and last terms are perfect squares, there is a good chance that these expressions are perfect square trinomials. Now, check whether the middle terms are two times the square roots of the first and last terms.
Expression | First Term | Last Term | Middle Term |
---|---|---|---|
25x2−30x+9 | 25x2=(5x)2 | 9=(3)2 | 30x=2⋅5x⋅3 |
x2−14x+49 | x2=(x)2 | 49=(7)2 | 14x=2⋅x⋅7 |
a2−b2=(a+b)(a−b)
Distribute -1
Add and subtract terms
The number of dots in each figure in terms of n can be obtained in two different ways, one represented by n2+4n and the other represented by (n+2)2−4. To illustrate n2+4n, assume that n2 is the inside full square of dots and 4n is the four outside borders with n dots each.
Notice that the number of dots in the outside border and side length of the inside square, in terms of n, match the figure number. Now, to illustrate (n+2)2−4, imagine the larger square with the four additional dots filled in at the corners. Then, (n+2)2 would be the number of dots in the larger square, since the missing 4 dots were added.
As it can be seen, the number of dots in nth figure can be represented by n2+4n and by (n+2)2−4. Therefore, these expressions are equivalent.
Write as a power
a2−b2=(a+b)(a−b)
Add and subtract terms
Distribute n
Multiply
Factor the following polynomial.
To factor the given expression, we will recall the formula for the difference of two squares. a^2- b^2=( a+ b)( a- b) Now, we will rewrite our terms as a second power. Then we will apply the formula.
Notice that the given expression can be written as the product of two conjugate binomials, (x+9) and (x-9).
This time we will rewrite 25y^2-1 in the form a^2- b^2. Let's first write 25y^2 as ( 5x)^2 and then we need also to rewrite 1 as 1^2.
The given expression is equal to the product of conjugate binomials (5y+1) and (5y-1).
Finally, we will factor the expression 7-0.25z^2. We can do this by finding the number that is equal to 7 when it is multiplied by itself.
sqrt(7) * sqrt(7) = 7
Having the fact that the second power of sqrt(7) is equal to 7, we can rewrite our expression.
The expression is equal to the product of conjugate binomials (sqrt(7)+0.5z) and (sqrt(7)-0.5z).
The given expressions represent the factored form of the difference of perfect squares or perfect square trinomials.
Let's recall that the formula for the difference of two squares is a^2- b^2=( a+ b)( a- b). The given equation is written in that same form. 16y^2-△=( ◊ + 7)( 4y- ♡) With this in mind, if we match the first terms of the binomials, we can find that ◊= 4y. Then, if we match the second terms of the binomials, we can find that 7= ♡. 16y^2-△=( 4y + 7)( 4y- 7) We are almost done! Since the squared terms a^2 and b^2 in the left hand side are the squares of the terms inside the binomials, we can write the the values of a and b correspondingly. a^2- b^2=( a+ b)( a- b) ⇓ ( 4y)^2- 7^2=( 4y+ 7)( 4y- 7) Great! Now, we can complete our equation to have it in the given form. 16y^2-△=( ◊ + 7)( 4y- ♡) ⇓ 16y^2-49=( 4y+ 7)( 4y- 7) Let's finally match our all missing values. △=49, ◊=4y, and ♡=7 Therefore the answer is option B.
This time we will start by recalling the formula to factor a perfect square trinomial.
a^2+2 a b+ b^2=( a + b)^2
With this in mind, let's now rewrite and compare our equation.
a^2+2 a b+ b^2=( a + b)^2
⇓
( 3x)^2+△+ 5^2=( ◊ + ♡)^2
As we can see, we can find the values of a and b such that a= 3x and b= 5. Since we can match a with ◊ and also b with ♡, we can substitute that ◊= 3x and ♡= 5.
a^2+2 a b+ b^2=( a + b)^2
⇓
( 3x)^2+△+ 5^2=( 3x + 5)^2
Now, we will find the value of △ by substituting a= 3x and b= 5 into the middle term 2 a b.
Finally, we can write our all missing values. △=30x, ◊=3x, and ♡=5 Therefore, the answer is option C.
We want to factor the given trinomial. c^2+10c+25 How do we know that the expression is a perfect square trinomial? Well, let's ask a few questions.
Is the first term a perfect square? | c^2= c^2 ✓ |
Is the last term a perfect square? | 25= 5^2 ✓ |
Is the middle term twice the product of 5 and c? | 10c=2* 5* c ✓ |
As we can see, the answer to all three questions is yes! Therefore, we can write the trinomial as the square of a binomial. Note there is an addition sign in the middle.
To factor the given expression, we will first identify and factor out the greatest common factor. We will then use the formula for the difference of two squares to finish the problem.
The greatest common factor (GCF) of an expression is a common factor of the terms in the expression. It is the common factor with the greatest coefficient and the greatest exponent. The GCF of the given expression is 3.
In this part of the solution, we will have a look closely at the expression k^4-1. It can be expressed as the difference of two perfect squares.
Recall the formula to factor a difference of squares. a^2- b^2 ⇔ ( a+ b)( a- b) We can apply this formula to our expression. 3 ( ( k^2)^2- 1^2 ) ⇔ 3( k^2+ 1)( k^2- 1) Next, let's take a look at the expression k^2-1. Once again, we can express it as a difference of two perfect squares. Let's do it!
Now, we can apply the formula to factor our expression completely. 3 (k^2+1)( k^2- 1^2) ⇕ 3(k^2+1)( k+ 1)( k- 1)
We will solve the given equation by factoring. To do so, we will start by identifying its first term and last term to check whether it is a perfect square trinomial or not. h^2-8/9h+16/81=0 ⇕ h^2-( 8/9 )h+ 16/81=0 Notice that the first term h^2 and the last term 1681 are the perfect squares. Let's see whether the middle term can be written as 2 a b to be able to say it is a perfect square trinomial. h^2-( 8/9 )h+ 16/81=0 ⇕ h^2-2 * h * ( 4/9 )+( 4/9 )^2=0 Great! As it is seen, the given trinomial can be rewritten in the form a^2-2 a b+ b^2. Therefore, it is a perfect square trinomial. Let's now factor it by applying the formula.
Now we are ready to use the Zero Product Property.
We found that the solution to the given equation is h= 49.