Factoring Perfect Squares! (Weehooo! It’s gonna be fun!) ‘Ok, people, here we go. I'm gonna try to explain to you how to factor perfect squares without actually being in class. This is only going to work if I try really hard to be extremely clear with my description and if you try really hard to read this super carefully and not doink around in class when you should be working. (Yeah, you know who I'm talking about!) First of all, this is a shortcut. You don’t HAVE to factor things this way, however it is MJUUUUCH easier to factor some polynomials this way when you can. aan Let's start with an example (from your packet). (ive? +72eh 8d) Ee If you wanted to factor this trinomial the way you've already been taught you would (I hope) start by multiplying 16 and 81 (which is 1296). Then you would look for two numbers that multiply to make 1296 and ADD to make 72 (the middle term). This might take you a very long time, because 1296 has a LOT of factors. Here’s the shortcut. (You're excited, right?) Look at the first term and thelastterm + /(¢* ancl S/d* ‘They are both what are called ‘perfect squares’ because they have exact square roots. The square root of the first term is 4c and the square root of the second term is 9d. When the first and last term of trinomial are perfect squares, this is the first hint that you MIGHT be able to use this shortcut. ‘The second thing to check is the middle term. Specifically: Is the middle term equal to “two times the first square root times the second square root’. (Lots of big words there. All this means is “2*9d*4c". Does this equal the middle term? Oh YEAH! IT DOES!!! That means you can use the shortcut. He «92 3bed = Boe > Tae. So what's the shortcut you ask? Here itis, when you have this type of ‘perfect square trinomial’ you can jmp ight tothe answer whichis (inthis ee) Ce gy) To make sure this works, let’s double check by hanc _ ——— yd) 9 =( fergie rW (eM ral MTG DD | =locr + 3bed r3bee rSid , a I elect + Feed + 8ld* Gh? ee Convinced? Good! Wait, you're NOT convinced? Then stop and go back and read this page over. You NEED to get this! It matters. Lives are at stake here! ot, maybe et Hit), bub atit/ur.aT or S a) Here's another gn from the packet: (“7 - Z&t + '/94*/ pce Are the first and last terms ‘perfect squares’? YES. The square roots are 2 and 7t. Now, let’s check the middle term. Is it equal to 2*2*7t? YES! Wait, no! 2*2*7t is 28t, not Shoot! = Ah, but don’t worry. It still works, When the middle term is negative, that just means that you final answer has a subtraction symbol in the answer rather than an addition one. So our answer this, time is: (2-76 Zz Again, let’s check our answer. z (2 -7t) Last one, then you can begin workingon the packet. 99 2 amo + Jy? Py Re co Hmmmmm... This doesn’t seem to be a perfect square because the first and last terms don’t have nice, neat square roots. But wait! What's our first rule of factoring? (Pause, waiting for an answer...) That’s RIGHT! First look for a Greatest Common Factor in all terms and there IS one! 7 : rite our trinomial like thi 2, 2 goes into all those terms. So now we can rewrite our trinomial like a(4m* Ymp +P ) And now we DO have perfect squares at the beginning and the end. Here’s how it plays out... 7 (4m_Y mp a i Pp So. 1(20 ge) an ~ - ~ REMEBER, THIS NECATNE Side, clea THY HAS TS BE SOBTPAETHS Ok, that's it. If this has all made sense, then rock on and start the sheet in the packet. NOTE: Not all the trinomials in the packet are perfect squares so you may not be able to use the ‘shortcut’ with all _ofthem. ‘That's it! I'm out! BTW, I'm at Okemo with the Snowboard Club. Try not to let your jealousy eat you alive!