Ugh, Factoring How do I decide which method to use?

One of the most common complaints I get from students is about factoring. How do I know if I need two sets of parenthesis or one set of parenthesis? In this article I will try to break down three different methods of factoring and hopefully give you an idea of what methods to use. Before we get started it might be helpful to think of factoring as undoing a multiplication. Factoring is just basically breaking up a term(s) into smaller terms. 1. Difference of perfect squares (ax2 - c2) Here are some examples of difference of perfect squares: a. x 2 16
4 x 36 x
4 6

b. 25 x 2 64

c. x 4 x 6

d.

In difference of perfect squares notice that: 1. You have a subtraction 2. You have perfect squares To factor difference of perfect squares you will need 2 set of parenthesis. Therefore if you are factoring difference of perfect square start by writing two sets of parenthesis. ( )( )

Second, write the square root of ax2 as the first term in each set of parenthesis, for example d above it would look like this: (2x2 )( 2x2 )

Third, write the square root of c2 as the second term in each set of parenthesis. (2x2 6x3 )( 2x2 6x3 )

Finally, since in difference of perfect squares we have no middle term, one set of parenthesis will have a + and the other a sign. (2x2 + 6x3 )( 2x2 - 6x3 ) You can check that its correct by multiplying the binomials, it should go back to the original which was 4 x 4 36 x 6 when you multiply them. 2. Factoring a trinomial in the form (x2 +bx +c) Factor: x2 +6x 16 First, write down two sets of parentheses. ( )( ) Since the first term in the trinomial is the product of the first terms of the binomials,

you enter x as the first term of each binomial (x times x is x2). (x )(x ) Second, find two numbers that multiply to c and add up to b. In other words, what multiplies to -16 and adds up to 6? Well thats 8 and -2 (8)(-2)=-16 and (8)+(-2)=6 So we write (x + 8)(x - 2) Remember what we said earlier, factoring is undoing a multiplication. So you can check if you are correct by multiplying it out. 3. Common factor (GCF) You can use this method when the terms in a polynomial have a common factor. When you factor this way you only need one set of parenthesis. For example: 5x2 +25x The terms in this polynomial all have a common factor of 5x. So we factor out 5x 5x( ) Next, ask yourself, what do you have to multiply 5x by to get back to the original? And thats (5x)(5x)=25x2 and (5x)(5)=25x 5x( 5x + 5) Remember what we said earlier, factoring is undoing a multiplication. So you can check if you are correct by multiplying it out. These are three basic factoring techniques. I hope this was helpful! Thanks for reading, if you have any questions leave me a comment. Or if youd like me to work out an example feel free to post it and I can upload a video working it out.