McGraw Hill Glencoe Algebra 1, 2012
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McGraw Hill Glencoe Algebra 1, 2012 View details
5. Using the Distributive Property
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Exercise 51 Page 499

a Let's start by writing the factors of and calculate their sum.
Factors Sum of Factors
and
and
and
and

We see that and have a product of and a sum of

b We will now write each factor in an empty square. We will also include the positive or negative sign and variable.
c For this part, we will find the factor for each row and column of the box.
The factors of are and
d When we use the box method to factor we need to follow four steps.
  1. Place the first term, in the top left-hand corner and the last term, in the lower right-hand corner.
  2. Determine which two factors have a product of and a sum of
  3. Place the variable and the factors with their signs in the box.
  4. Find the factor for each row and column.

Extra

Use Box Method to Factor It

We will start by placing the first term, in the top left-hand corner and the last term, in the lower right-hand corner.

Now, we will determine the factor pair with a product of and a sum of
Next, we will place the variable and the factors with their signs in the box.

Finally, we find the factor for each row and column.

The factors of are and