Sum and Difference of Cubes Trinomials with distinct factors

The sum or difference of two cubes can be
factored into a product of a binomial times a
trinomial.
That is, x3+y3=(x+y)(x2−xy+y2) and
x3−y3=(x−y)(x2+xy+y2) .
A mnemonic for the signs of the factorization is
the word "SOAP", the letters stand for "Same
sign" as in the middle of the original expression,
"Opposite sign", and "Always Positive".
A polynomial with three terms is called a trinomial.
Trinomials often (but not always!) have the form x2 + bx
+ c. At first glance, it may seem difficult to factor
trinomials, but you can take advantage of some
interesting mathematical patterns to factor even the
most difficult-looking trinomials.
Factoring Trinomials: x2 + bx + c
Trinomials in the form x2 + bx + c can often be factored
as the product of two binomials. Remember that a
binomial is simply a two-term polynomial.

Example 1:
Factor 27p3+q3 .

 Try to write each of the terms as a cube of

an expression.
 27p3+q3=(3p)3+(q)3
 Use the factorization of sum of cubes to
rewrite.
 27p3+q3
 =(3p)3+(q)3                     
  =(3p+q)((3p)2−3pq+q2)                     
  =(3p+q)(9p2−3pq+q2)
 Laws of exponents
Special products
Recognizing when you have these perfect square
trinomials will make factoring them much simpler. They
are also very helpful when solving and graphing certain
kinds of equations.
Sum and difference of two numbers
 The difference of 2 squares: x2-y2 = (x+y)(x-y)
 The sum of 2 squares: x2+y2 is not factorable
over the reals
x2+y2 = (x+iy)(y+ix), where
is i is √(-1).
 The sum of 2 cubes: x3+y3 = (x+y)(x2−xy+y2)
 The difference of 2 cubes: x3−y3 = (x−y)(x2+xy+y2)
Sum and difference of two numbers
 The square of the sum of 2 numbers: (x+y)2 =
x2+2xy+y2
 The square of the difference between 2 numbers:
(x-y)2 = x2-2xy+y2
 The cube of the sum of two numbers: (x+y)3 =
x3+3x2y+3xy2+y3
 The cube of the difference between 2 numbers:
(x-y)3 = x3-3x2y+3xy2-y3
Square of trinomials
 Perfect square trinomials are algebraic
expressions with three terms that are created by
multiplying a binomial to itself. Example: (3x +
2y)2 = 9x2 + 12xy + 4y2
Cube of binomials
 Sum of cubes: (a + b)3 = a3 + 3a2b + 3ab2 + b3
= a3 + 3ab (a + b) + b3
 Difference of cubes: (a – b)3 = a3 – 3a2b +
3ab2 – b3
= a3 – 3ab (a – b) – b3
Greatest common factors in monomials
The process is similar when you are asked to find the
greatest common factor of two or more monomials.
Simply write the complete factorization of each
monomial and find the common factors. The product of
all the common factors will be the GCF.
Find the greatest common factor of 6xy2 and 18y.
 Solution
The GCF of 6 and 18 is 6. The GCF of xy2 and y is
y. Because the factor x does not appear in all
terms, it does not appear in the GCF. So the GCF
of 6xy2 and 18y is 6 · y, which is 6y.
How to Factor Difference of Two Perfect Squares
Example 1: Factor the binomial below using the
difference of two squares method.
 x2-9
The first term of the binomial is definitely a
perfect square because the variable xx is
being raised to the second power.
However, the second term of the binomial
is not written as a square.
 x2-9 = x2-32
For this example, the solution is broken
down in just a few steps to highlight the
procedure.
 x2-9 (x+3)(x-3)