Algebra II : Factoring Polynomials

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Algebra II

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Example Questions

Example Question #111 : Factoring Polynomials

Factor .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The first thing we can do is factor a  out of both terms:

Now we can see that each term is the square of something simpler:

We can use our squared terms formula to solve:

Example Question #111 : Factoring Polynomials

Factor 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

1) In order to start factoring we first want to see if the expression is divisible by any common factor. This allows to greatly simplify factoring in expressions and equations where polynomials have large coefficients.

In this case 

is divisible by two, so it can be simplified to 

 When pulling out a number/factoring you should make sure that the  simplified expression is equivalent to the unsimplified expression by doing the reverse of the operation given previously. In this case the  can be simplified to  by simply distributing the two.

2) With  the next step is to look at how you can simplify the expression such that  when multiplied out will given . Thinking about this you want a number that can multiply to 15 (the constant) but add up to 2 (the coefficient of the x-term).  and  will provide you this, so you can substitute them into the expression where the blanks are.

3) The expression can now be simplified to , which is your final answer. The equivalency to its unfactored form can be checked through multiplying everything out and if the factored answer is correct it'll given the initial expression, otherwise you did something wrong in your operations and should double check each step.

Example Question #113 : Factoring Polynomials

Factor:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The simplest way to solve this problem is to identify that it is a difference of two perfect squares. Recall that the factors of  are  and .

Looking back at our original function, we can see that both of our terms are perfect squares -  is a perfect square because  and  is a perfect square because .

Therefore, we can treat  as , meaning that , and  as , meaning that , resulting in the factored form 

.

Example Question #114 : Factoring Polynomials

Factor the following polynomial:

Possible Answers:

The polynomial cannot be factored

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The correct answer is . Because the constant is negative, the answer must contain terms with positive and negative constants, thus ruling out , which would result in a positive coefficient. The   answer choice can be ruled out because the factored out polynomial results in a , not a . Therefore, the correct answer choice is, which can be confirmed if multiplied out. 

Example Question #161 : Intermediate Single Variable Algebra

Factor 

Possible Answers:

Cannot be factored further. 

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This problem is an example of a difference of squares. The formula for such a problem is . In this problem  corresponds to  and  corresponds to . Therefore, the solution is 

Example Question #161 : Intermediate Single Variable Algebra

Simplify

Possible Answers:

None of the other answers

Answer cannot be simplified further.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

When working with problems like these, you want to put the monomials in a standard format with the highest ordered terms on the left. 

So the denominator should read: 

The entire expression will then read: 

 

Then factor out a  from the equation so it reads 

 

The like terms then cancel leaving

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