GED Math : FOIL

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GED Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #50 : Quadratic Equations

Solve:  

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use the FOIL method to solve.  Multiply the first term of the first binomial with both terms of the second binomial.

Multiply the second term of the first binomial with both terms of the second binomial.

Add the quantities by combining like-terms.

The answer is:   

Example Question #21 : Foil

Factor completely:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The greatest common factor of the three terms is , so factor it out, and distribute it out, as follows:

The trinomial  might be factored out as the product of two binomials , where  and  have sum 7 and product 12; by trial and error, we find that two such integers do exist, and they are 3 and 4. Therefore, 

,

the correct factorization.

Example Question #22 : Foil

Expand the following expression:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Expand the following expression:

Do you recall FOIL? It is an acronym to help us remember to multiply each pair of terms when multiplying binomials.

First: Multiply the pair of first terms in this case 6x and 9x

 

Outer: Multiply the terms furthest to the left and right. In this case 6x and 3

Inner: Multiply the middle two terms -4 and 9x

Last: The last term from each group, in this case -4 and 3

Now, we just need to put the terms together:

And we have:

Example Question #23 : Foil

Multiply:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Take the product of the two binomials  using the FOIL method.

First: 

Outer: 

Inner: 

Last: 

Add these:

Collect the like terms in the middle by subtracting coefficients:

Therefore, 

Distribute the  by multiplying it by each term:

,

the correct product.

Example Question #361 : Algebra

Expand the following expression:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Expand the following expression:

This is what is known as a difference of squares. We can use FOIL to find our answer.

Remember FOIL? First Outer Inner Last

This means we need to multiply each pair of terms in parentheses to get the correct answer:

First:

Outer:

Inner:

Last:

Put it all together to get:

Making our answer 

Do you see why it's called a difference of squares?

Example Question #21 : Foil

Which of the following is equivalent to ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Start by FOILing.

First: 

Outer: 

Inner: 

Last: 

Combine the terms:

Finally, simplify by combining like terms.

Example Question #26 : Foil

Which of the following expressions is equivalent to ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

You must FOIL the two terms.

Now, combine like terms.

Thus, the expanded version of the given terms is the following:

Example Question #371 : Algebra

Simplify .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This is a classic FOIL problem. FOIL stands for first, outer, inner, and last. It describes a process of multiplying together polynomials. Essentially, you are multiplying every combination of terms from the first set of parentheses and the second set of parentheses. You start with the first two terms, then the outer two terms, then the inner two terms, and finally the last two terms.

For , your first two terms are  and , and . Your outer two terms are  and , and . Your inner two terms are  and , and . Your last two terms are  and , and .

Ultimately, once you combine and add everything together, you get

.

You finish by combining like terms. The two like terms here are  and  and 

Therefore, your final answer is

.

Example Question #51 : Quadratic Equations

Foil the two equations:  and 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To foil these two equations, we'll need to multiply them together. To multiply them together, you'll have to take each term from the first equation and multiply them individually with each term in the second equation.

We'll start with  from the first equation.

Multiply  from the first equation with  from the second equation.

Multiply  from the first equation with  from the second equation.

Now we'll use the  from the first equation.

Multiply the  from the first equation with the  from the second equation.

Multiply the  from the first equation with  from the second equation.

We won't do this method with the second equation as that will only give us the same answer. Now take all of your answers and string them together, like so:

We can combine our  and  because they are under the same power of ; which is one.

Since we cannot combine anymore like terms, we can take what we have left and put it as our final equation.

Your answer is 

 

Example Question #373 : Algebra

Foil these two equations:  and 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to foil these two equations, we're going to have to multiply them together. In order to do that, you're going to have to take each term from the first equation and separately multiply them with all the terms in the second equation.

First we'll start with  from the first equation.

Multiply  from the first equation with the  from the second equation:

Multiply  from the first equation with the  from the second equation:

Now we'll work with the .

Multiply the  from the first equation with the  from the second equation:

Multiply the  from the first equation with the  from the second equation:

We won't do this again with the second equation as that will just give us the same answers. Now take all the answers and string them together into an equation like so:

The  and  can be combined together as they share the same power, which is one.

Since there is nothing left to combine, we can leave the equation as is.

Your answer should be 

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