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Is there a greatest common factor? What other factoring technique could you use according to the number of terms?
Prime
We want to factor the given polynomial. Note that it has three terms.
Since neither term is a square, the polynomial is not a perfect square trinomial. Furthermore, it cannot be factored by finding a pair of integers whose product is a* c, which here is 1* 25, and whose sum is b, which in the example is 5. Therefore, the given polynomial cannot be factored: it is prime.
| Number of Terms | Factoring Technique |
|---|---|
| Any number | Greatest Common Factor (GCF) |
| Two | Difference of Two Squares, Sum of Two Cubes, or Difference of Two Cubes |
| Three | Perfect Square Trinomials, or General Trinomials |
| Four or More | Grouping |