College Algebra : Polynomials
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Polynomials
Multiply the following polynomials:
Multiply the following polynomials:
When multiplying polynomials, we need to multiply each term in the first polynomial by each term in the second polynomial.
We can rewrite the expression as:
Next, actually do the multiplication.
Finally, combine like terms to get the following:
Example Question #1 : Polynomials
Identify the power of the following polynomial
To find the power of a polynomial, you must find the term with the highest degree. Don't be fooled, you must distribute the power on the outside to the inside in order to find this term. Now, before you start worrying about foiling this 4 times, you can simply use the trick of distributing the outside power to the term on the inside with the largest power. Thus, our answer is:
Example Question #3 : Polynomials
Multiply:
This product can be rewritten as the sum of two expressions multiplied by their difference:
Apply the difference of squares pattern:
Apply the perfect square trinomial pattern on the left, and the Power of a Product Property on the right:
Collect like terms:
Example Question #2 : Polynomials
Multiply
This product can be rewritten as the sum of two expressions multiplied by their difference:
Apply the difference of squares pattern:
Now apply the Power of a Power Property on the left and the perfect square trinomial pattern on the right:
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