The Algebra Toolbox

Part Two Quadratics Algebraic Fractions

The Algebra Toolbox

Contents Section Topics
b. What Makes Quadratics? c. Factorising Type 1 Quadratics d. Factorising Type 2 Quadratics e. Factorising Type 3 Quadratics f. Factorising Harder Type 3 Quadratics Quadratic Equations

Page
3 4 7 9 13 17 21 25

1. Factorising Quadratic a. Basic Definition Expressions

2. Solving Quadratic Equations 3. Algebraic fractions & Algebraic Fractions dividing with algebra

1. QUADRATIC EXPRESSIONS - factorising

(a) BASIC DEFINITION
A Quadratic Expression is one that must contain an x2 (or a2, y2 etc, depending on what letter youre using) may contain an x-term (such as 3x, 2x, 7x, 5a, 3t etc) may contain a plain number without a letter (such as 4, 5, 9 etc) must not contain any other kind of term other than these The general form of a quadratic is ax2 + bx + c
where the x is called the variable, and a, b and c are all constants (numbers). a, b and c are sometimes negative, in which case you will see negative signs in the expression.

The following are examples of quadratic expressions: 3x2 + 8x + 5 3x2 8x 5 x2 7 4a a2 5t + 3 + t2 y2 u2 a(a 3)

here, a = 3, b = 8 and c = 5 here, a = 3, b = 8 and c = 5 here, a = 1, b = 0 (theres no b-term) and c = 7 here, a = 1, b = 4 and c = 0 (do you agree??) Its a good idea to cutnpaste terms first, so instead write it as a2 + 4a Cutnpaste to rewrite it as t2 + 5t + 3 so a = 1, b = 5 and c = 3 here, a = 1, but b and c both = 0 here, a = , and b = 0, c = 0 this is written in disguised form, because if you expand it youll get a2 3a, which is indeed a quadratic! a = 1, b = 3 , c = 0

Examples of non-quadratics are 2x3 5x;

Can you see which terms make them non-quadratics? (2x3, 3/x and 2x)

3 + 5x ; 2x + 3 x

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(b) WHAT MAKES QUADRATICS?

Try making quadratics by multiplying these pairs of linear terms together (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (a + 3) (a + 5) (x 2) (2x 4) (3x 5) 4x (y 2) (y + 2) (7 b) (2b + 1) x (3x + 1)
The word linear refers to any expression of the format a + 5; 3x + 2; 2x 5; 7 x; 2a + 1; 3b; 5w; etc They all have just a letter, maybe a number multiplying it, and maybe another number added or subtracted.

(vii) (3y + 5)(3y 5)

Section 3(d) on Page 39 of Toolbox Part 1 shows you how to do these.

Here are the answers.. (i) (ii) (iii) (a + 3) (a + 5) = a2 + 8a + 15 (x 2) (2x 4) = 2x2 8x + 8 4x (3x 5) = 12x2 20x
Note no c term in the answer! Can you see that this is because the 1st term (4x) consists of 1 term only? Note no b term in the answer because each bracketed term was identical & brackets have opposite signs
2

(iv)

(y 2) (y + 2) = y2 4

(v) (vi)

(7 b) (2b + 1) = 2b + 13b + 7 x (3x + 1) = 3x2 + x

Same reasoning as for (iii) same reasoning as for (iv)

VITAL INFO!!

(vii) (3y + 5)(3y 5) = 9y2 25

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Having done these, there are now some important observations you should make: usually, when you multiply two linear terms together, you will get something like ax2 + bx + c, with 3 terms. This happens in (i), (ii) and (v) above There are, however, two important exceptions: (1) when we have two linear expressions the same except for their sign (e.g. (a + 6)(a 6) ), the result is missing the b term. This happens in (iv) and (vii). (2) when one of the linear expressions has an x-term only (e.g. 3x(x + 4)), the result is missing the c term. This happens in (iii) and (vi) above.

Now here are some names to learn: We will label expressions like 3x2 + x, 12x2 20x, 7y y2 as Type 1 quadratics 9y2 25, y2 4, x2 25 etc as Type 2 quadratics x2 3x + 5, 2x2 + x 7 as Type 3 quadratics
Type 1 quadratics are missing their c term & look like ax2 + bx Type 2 quadratics are missing their b term & look like ax2 + c Type 3 quadratics are missing no terms (they have all 3 !)

Important note The type 2 quadratics we deal with all have a minus sign between the 2 terms, so this will look more like ax2 c

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Practice Exercises 1 Write down the values of a, b and c, and state whether the quadratic is Type 1, 2 or 3. Question 1 is done for you! Quadratic 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2a2 + 3a + 5 5y2 8y 4x2 11x y2 16 25 + y +3y2 t2 32 3b2 + b + 7 3t2 7b + 8 3b2 4t Values of a, b and c? a = 2, b = 3, c = 5 Type 1, 2 or 3? Type 3

CLICK HERE FOR ANSWERS!

Practice Exercises 2 Expand each of these, and categorise your answer as Type 1, 2 or 3. 1 2 3 4 5 (3a + 4)(2a + 5) (7a 2)(7a + 2) 3x(2x 5) (b + 2)(b + 2) (3a 5)(3a + 5) 6 7 8 9 10 (5y 7)y (3 2p)(3 + 2p) (a 3)(a 3) (2b + 5)(b 5) (3y + 4)(3y 4)

CLICK HERE FOR ANSWERS!

When youve completed Exercise 2, make sure you know how to (a) categorise your answers (the quadratics) as Type 1, 2 or 3 (b) recognise from the question what Type your answer will be.

In other words you should know that

3a(2a + 5) will give a Type 1 answer because the one of the two factors (the 3a) has only 1 term (ans: 6a2 + 15a) (2a 3)(2a + 3) will give a Type 2 answer because each bracket has the same things, but signs are opposite (ans: 4a2 9) (2a + 5)(3a 4) will give a Type 3 because its not Type 1 or Type 2 !! (ans: 6a2+ 7a 20)

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(c) FACTORISING TYPE 1 QUADRATICS

The good news is..This has already been done in Toolbox Part 1, (page 36) although not thoroughly.

Type 1 factorisations involve taking out a common factor!

Example 1 Factorise x2 + 8x
Noting the common factor is x, place this at the front of the brackets

x( + )
Now fill in the blanks. THINK: x multiplies what to give x2. ANS x x multiplies what to give 8x. ANS 8

So place the x and the 8 in the brackets:

x(x + 8).ANSWER!! Example 2 Factorise 3x2 9x

Here there are TWO common factors the x and the 3. Take them both out the front as 3x.

THINK..3x multiplies what to give 3x2? ANS x. 3x multiplies what to give 9x? ANS 3. So place the x and the 3 in the brackets

3x(. .)

3x(x 3)ANSWER!!

The Algebra Toolbox 2003 R. Bowman. All rights reserved.

Example 3 Factorise 18a 12a2

Can you tell what the common factors will be? Certainly theres an a, but what about the numbers? 18 and 12 can both be divided by several numbers, including 2, 3 and 6.

Pick the biggest! So well go with 6.

The common factors well use then are

6 and a

Key point!! Take note!!

As for previous examples, put these in front of the brackets as 6a

6a(. .)
THINK 6a multiplies what to give 18a ? ANS 3 6a multiplies what to give 12a2 ? ANS 2a Place the 3 and the 2a into the brackets:

= 6a(3 2a) ANSWER!!

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(d) FACTORISING TYPE 2 QUADRATICS

These quadratics are of the form x2 9 4x2 16 y2 25 a2 49 etc. Can you tell what they have in common? If you said. a minus sign in the middle two terms both terms are squares of numbers or letters (25 is 52, 49 is

72, y2 is y squared, 4x2 is (2x)2 etc

then youd be right!! Because Type 2 Quadratics contain a minus sign and two terms which are squares, they are known as DIFFERENCE OF TWO SQUARES The general rule can be written as

a2 b2 = (a b)(a + b)

The minus and plus signs can be swapped around. 2 2 This is the same as a b = (a + b)(a b)

The Algebra Toolbox 2003 R. Bowman. All rights reserved.

Before we get into it, try these expansions. (See Toolbox Part 1, P39) (i) (a 3)(a + 3) = .? (ii) (5 y)(5 + y) = .? (iii) (3x + 2)(3x 2) = ?
How did you go? Did you get these answers? (i) a2 9 (ii) 25 y2 (iii) 9x2 4

What do the 3 questions have in common?

What do the 3 answers have in common?

(i) The 2 terms in each pair of brackets are the same. (ii) There is a minus sign in one bracket, and a plus in the other bracket.

(i) The 1st term is the square of the 1st term in each bracket, and the 2nd term is the square of the 2nd term in each bracket. (ii) There is always a minus in the answer!

So if I was asked to write down the expansion of (3y 4)(3y + 4) heres what I should be thinking:

(i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

Does each bracket have the same terms, and opposite signs? YES! This means our rule can work! (a + b)(a b) = a2 b2 What is the square of 3y? 9y2 (3y 3y = 9y2) What is the square of 4? 16 Answer must then be 9y
2

16

!!

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Now lets move into Factorising Type 2 quadratics.

Remember Always try to take out a common factor first - before you do anything!
Example 1 Factorise x2 a2 .
Remember FACTORISE is the reverse of EXPAND. So it is helpful if we can think backwards - what could have been expanded to get x2 a2 ? Because this is a Type 2, we know something like ( + )( ) must have been expanded to get x2 a2.

THINK = x2 = a2 so must be x & must be a

= (x a )(x + a)

ANSWER!!

(or you could write (x + a)(x a)

Example 2 Factorise 16 t .
What was expanded to get 16 t2 ? We know ( + )( ) = 16 t2.
2

THINK = 16 = t2 so must be 4 & must be t

= (4 t )(4 + t)

ANSWER!!

Remember Always try to take out a common factor first - before you do anything!

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Example 3 Factorise 9x2 25b2 .

What was expanded to get 9x2 25b2 ? We know ( + )( ) = 9x2 25b2. The brackets must each contain a 3x and an 5b.

THINK = 9x2 = 25b2 so must be 3x & must be 5b

= (3x 5b )(3x + 5b) Example 4 Factorise 2a2 50.

ANSWER!!

Remember to take out any common factor first! 2 is a common factor!

2a2 50 = 2(a2 25)

Now work on the bracketed term a2 25 as a Type 2 This becomes (a 5)(a + 5)

= 2(a 5)(a + 5) ANSWER!!

Remember Always try to take out a common factor first - before you do anything!

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(e) FACTORISING - TYPE 3 QUADRATICS

Type 3 quadratics are the hardest to factorise. Try following this example of expanding which leads to a Type 3. Pay special attention to tracking the numbers throughout each step: Example 1 Expand & simplify (a + 3)(a + 5)
Remember to break up the first bracketed term (a + 3) and repeat the second (a + 5) See examples in Toolbox 1 Pages 39-40

(a + 3)(a + 5) = a(a + 5) + 3(a + 5) = a2 + 5a + 3a + 15 = a2 + 8a + 15ANS!!

Can you track the progress of the two numbers (3 and 5) from the first step to the last? Can you see that the 8 in the answer has come from ADDING the 3 and 5 the 15 in the answer has come from MULTIPLYING the 3 and 5?

3 5 = 15 3+5=8 Example 2 Expand and simplify (y 5)(y + 9) Can you do this the quick way using our discovery above? This time the two numbers are 5 and 9. ADD THEM: MULTIPLY THEM: 5 + 9 = +4 5 9 = 45

We can now write down the answer straight away: (y 5)(y + 9) = y2 +4y 45 ANSWER!!
You should check this by doing it the long way!

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Example 3 Expand and Simplify (a 5)2 This of course really means (a 5)(a 5) So doing it the quick way again, the numbers are 5 and 5. ADD THEM: MULTIPLY THEM: 5 + 5 = 10 5 5 = + 25

ANSWER: a2 10a + 25

FACTORISING TYPE 3 QUADRATICS

Now we move into FACTORISING Type 3 quadratics. This is the REVERSE of EXPANDING (what we did in examples 1-3 above)

Remember Always try to take out a common factor first - before you do anything!
Example 4 (this is Example 1 backwards) Factorise a2 + 8a + 15.
Answer will look like (a + )(a + ) THINK. The 8 is the result of ADDING two numbers, and the 15 is the result of MULTIPLYING them! What are they?

=8 = 15

is 3 is 5

(a + 3)(a + 5) ANS!!

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Example 5 (this is Example 2 backwards) Factorise y2 + 4y 45

Answer will look like (y)(y.) But because the end number is a NEGATIVE, the 2 numbers were looking for must be a POSITIVE and a NEGATIVE. The smartest way to go about this is to first find all pairs of numbers multiplying to give 45, then pick the pair which add to 4. TRY 9 AND 5 ?? NO they add to 4 9 AND 5 ?? YES !! THINK. The +4 is the result of ADDING two numbers, and the 45 is the result of MULTIPLYING them! What are they?

=4 = - 45

is -5 is +9

ANSWER (y + 9) (y 5) The minus makes this a bit harder! Ouch!!

Example 6 Factorise x2 7x + 12 Begin with the brackets (x.)(x)

Look for 2 numbers which MULTIPLY TO MAKE +12 ADD TO MAKE 7 .. + = +12 = 7

Mult. to make +12. They must be either both positive or both negative! Add to make 7. This means they must be both negative!

Numbers must be 3 and 4 !!

Check 3 4 = +12 and 3 + 4 = 7 . YEP were right!!

(x 3)(x 4) ANSWER !!

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Example 7 Factorise 2a2 10a 28

Aha!! Theres a common factor of 2. So take it out!!

2a2 10a 28 = 2(a2 5a 14)

Now just work on whats in the brackets, as a Type 3. Ignore the 2 for the time being. Look for 2 numbers which MULTIPLY to make 14 ADD to make 5

Numbers are 7 and +2 !!

= 2(a 7)(a + 2) ANSWER!! Example 8 Factorise 15a 3a2 18.
The first thing we should do is cutnpaste to get the terms in the right order (so it looks like ax2 + bx + c format):

3a2 + 15a 18.

Now we see theres a common factor of 3, but as theres a negative sign to begin with, make the common factor 3, and take it out the front:

= 3 (a2 5a + 6) Remembering about the sign changes inside the brackets

(because of the negative term in front). Taking 3 out as the common factor rather than 3 is a good idea because it leaves a normal-looking quadratic inside the brackets. Now work on a2 5a + 6 as a regular Type 3. Look for 2 numbers which multiply to give +6, add to give 5. Numbers are 3 and 2 !!

= 3 (a 3)(a 2)

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(f) FACTORISING - HARDER TYPE 3 QUADRATICS

Up to now, the only quadratics weve been dealing with have been ones where the a value (in front of the x2 ) is equal to 1. In Examples 7 and 8 on the previous pages, the a value was not 1, but we were able to take out a common factor which then led to a quadratic where a was equal to 1. Now we meet quadratics where a is something other than 1. Examples include (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) 2x2 + 9x 5 3a2 5a 2 3b2 11b 20 6t2 + 17t + 12

Note that in these, there are no common factors that can be taken out. If the number in front of the x2 term is something other than 1, then this needs to be done by a different method. There are a number of different methods of doing these, but Ill show you what I believe to be the quickest and easiest. Lets do the ones above.

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Example 1 Factorise 2x2 + 9x 5

STEP 1: Set up brackets like this.

(2 x......)(2 x......) 2

Had the leading term been 3x2 rather than 2x2, then all the 2s would be 3s ! Multiply a by c. 2 5 = 10. ac = 10 b = 9. Look for two numbers which MULTIPLY to give 10 ADD to give 9

STEP 2

= 10 = 9

Numbers are

+10 and 1
STEP 3 Insert these numbers into the brackets in the fraction above

(2 x + 10)(2 x 1) 2
STEP 4 Cancel the 2 in the bottom into whichever bracket it will divide fully into (in this case the first the 2 divides fully the 2x and the 10, whereas in the 2nd bracket it will divide the 2x but not the 1.)

(2 x + 10)(2 x 1) = 2
STEP 5 Write the answer!

x +

= (x + 5)(2x 1)..ANSWER!!!
STEP 6 CHECK by expanding this answer to see if you get the original.

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Example 2 Factorise 3a2 5a 2

STEP 1: Set up brackets like this.

(3a......)(3a......) 3

Had the leading term been 3x2 rather than 2x2, then all the 2s would be 3s ! Multiply a by c. 3 2 = 6. ac = 6 b= 5. Look for two numbers which MULTIPLY to give 6 ADD to give 5

STEP 2

= 6 = 5

Numbers are

+1 and 6
STEP 3 Insert these numbers into the brackets in the fraction above

(3a + 1)(3a 6) 3
STEP 4 Cancel the 3 in the bottom into whichever bracket it will divide fully into (in this case the second the 3 divides fully the 3x and the 6 , whereas in the 1st bracket it will divide the 3x but not the + 1.)

(3a + 1)(3a 6) = 3
STEP 5 Write the answer!

a - 2

= (3a + 1)(a 2)..ANSWER!!!

STEP 6 CHECK by expanding this answer to see if you get the original.

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Practice Exercises 3 First decide whether Type 1, Type 2 or Type 3, then factorise! Remember in every question, to always look for a common factor first 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 a2 5a t2 9 16 25p2 x2 5x + 6 z2 1 4 49a2 5x2 + 15x p2 + 4p + 3 p2 4p + 3 y2 + y 6 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 3a2 75 t2 14 5t a + a2 2t + t2 15 3a2 12a + 36 2y2 5y 3 3a2 + 4a + 1 p2 p 3b2 11b 20 6t2 + 13t + 6

CLICK HERE FOR ANSWERS

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2. QUADRATIC EQUATIONS - solving

The good news is. if you can understand factorising (Section 1 above) then you can solve quadratic equations!! In the previous section we learnt how to FACTORISE QUADRATIC EXPRESSIONS Now we learn how to SOLVE QUADRATIC EQUATIONS Heres an example see if you can spot what the differences are between this example, and the examples in the previous section. Example 1 Solve a2 + 7a + 10 = 0
STEP 1 Factorise the expression on the left side (Its a Type 3 - use the skills learnt in the last section!) Check the example if youve forgotten!

(a + 2) (a + 5) = 0
STEP 2 We now have two things being multiplied () to give zero. This means either one of them must be zero

Either a + 2 = 0 So a = 2 a = 2 or 5 ANSWERS!!

Or a + 5 = 0 So a = 5

easy!!!

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Example 2 Solve 3a2 12a = 0

STEP 1 Factorise the expression on the left side (Its a Type 1 - use the skills learnt in the last section!) Check the example if youve forgotten!

3a (a 4) = 0
STEP 2 We now have two things being multiplied () to give zero. This means either one of them must be zero

Either a 4 = 0 So a = 4

or 3a = 0 So a = 0

Note that if 3a = 0, this means 3 times a is equal to 0. The only thing a can be for this to happen is zero!

a = 0 or 4 ANSWERS!! too easy!!!

NOTE.If you wanted to instead, you could have begun with the first line 3a2 12a = 0, and then divided all 3 terms by 3. This would then give you 3a2 3 = a2 a2 4a = 0 Proceeding as a Type 1 would then give a (a 4) = 0 So either a = 0, or a 4 = 0 In other words, a = 0 or a = 4 (same answers as above!!)
12a 3 = 4a 0 3 =0

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Example 3 (hard) Solve 10t = 8 + 3t2

STEP 1 Tidy it up. Cut n paste all terms to the one side, so ZERO IS ON THE OTHER SIDE. Which side is best to move terms to? I think its better to get the squared term (3t2) so theres no negative sign in front of it. Can you see then that we should aim to get the terms to the RIGHT? Well only need to move the 10b.

10t = 8 + 3t2 0 = 3t2 10t + 8

Note weve slotted the 10t into its proper position (remember the ax2 + bx + c format?) & placed the 3t2 at the front, 8 at the end

3t2 10t + 8 = 0
STEP 2

Turning everything around (makes it look more familiar when 0 is on the right side) FACTORISE THE LEFT (Its a harder Type 3), using your wonderful knowledge from the previous section! Check the example if youve forgotten!

(3t.......)(3t.......) = 0 Look for 2 numbers which MULTIPLY to give 24, ADD to 10 3

Theyre 6 and 4 . Insert these into brackets

(t 2)(3t 4) = 0
STEP 3 Either/or.

(3t 6)(3t 4) =0 3

Cancelling gives

Either t 2 = 0 t=2

or or

3t 4 = 0 3t = 4 t = 4/3

t = 2 or t = 4/3.ANSWERS!!

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Practice Exercises 4 Solve these quadratics. Be sure to categorise them as Type 1, 2 or 3 first. Remember to look for a common factor before you do anything! 1 2 3 4 5 x2 5x = 0 p2 16 = 0 a2 + 5a + 6 = 0 2b2 6b 56 = 0 9y = y2 6 7 8 9 10 3a2 48 = 0 x2 = x + 12 8d + 2d2 = 0 2y2 + 13y 7 = 0 3a2 = 11a + 4

CLICK HERE FOR ANSWERS!

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3. ALGEBRAIC FRACTIONS
This is a continuing source of stress for students from Year 9 up. The key thing to remember here is there are times when you can cancel the same terms in the top and bottom, and times you cant:

RIGHT
8 4 2 4 = = right! (cancel the 2s) 10 5 2 5

WRONG
8 3+5 5 = = (cant cancel the 3s) 10 3 + 7 7 8 5 is not the same as ! 10 7 5+4+3 4 is not the same as ! 3+ 7 +5 7

5 4 3 4 = right! (cancel 3s & 5s) 3 7 5 7 > = right! (cancel the > ) >

(cant cancel the 3s and 5s)

> = > > = > a+b b = a+c c

wrong! wrong! wrong!

cant cancel the >

ab b = ac c

right! (cancel the as)

(cant cancel the as)

a b b = wrong! ac c

abxy xy = right! (cancel the as & bs) 2abc 2c

(cant cancel the as)

( a + b) ( x y ) = (a + b) right! ( x y) ab + ac + d cannot be simplified! a

(cancel the (x y)s)

3x + xy x(3 + y ) can be written as x x

Nothing can be cancelled!

3x + 2 cannot be simplified! x

and then simplified by cancelling the xs to give 3 + y.ANS!!

Nothing can be cancelled!

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Important note: The expressions in the left column are the ones where we can cancel things. Do you notice anything in common that these expressions in the left column have?
Every time we have cancelled something (in the left column), it is connected to other terms by a multiplication. Cancelling cannot be done when the terms are connected by addition or subtraction, like the ones in the right column!

The general rule is: If you have an algebraic fraction, and want to cancel the same term from top and bottom to simplify it, this can only be done provided all terms are connected by multiplication! In other words, if you have any terms connected by addition or subtraction signs, then cancelling cant be done. The exception is when + or appears within a set of brackets.
Read on

Sometimes the top or bottom may require some manipulation (e.g. factorising) before cancelling can be done. Example 1 Simplify
x 2 + 3x x x( x + 3) = x x 2 + 3x x
Cant cancel yet as theres an addition sign connecting 2 of the terms Factorising the top (check example). This has now created 3 terms (x, x+3 and x) and the only operation connecting any of them is multiplication. The top really is x (x+3). The addition sign, because its in the brackets, is considered now to be part of the term (x + 3) and wont affect the cancelling operation. This is what Im talking about in the box above (in blue)

=x+3

Cancelling the xs. This is legal here because the 2 terms in the top (the x and the (x + 3)) are connected by multiplication and there are no other addition or subtraction operations connecting terms anywhere else.

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Example 2 Simplify
x 2 5x + 6 x2 9

x 2 5x + 6 x2 9 ( x 2)( x 3) factorising top & bottom separately. Check examples. = ( x + 3)( x 3)

Now there are four terms (x-2, x-3, x+3, x-3) The only operations connecting the 4 terms now are multiplications, so we can cancel similar terms (x 3 ) appearing in top & bottom. Remember the and + signs appearing inside the brackets are of no concern because they are not situated between terms.

x2 x+3

This is as far as we can go. There are 4 terms present here (x, 2, x, 3) and some of them are connected by addition and subtraction signs. Further factorising is impossible. Cancelling is therefore not allowed.

Example 3 Simplify
x2 y 2 3x 4 y

Phew! This is hard yakka to explain (let alone understand!) I hope youre getting it!

In this example, there are no additions or subtractions, so we can cancel pairs of similar terms, as long as one is in the top and one is in the bottom! (either fraction!) Begin by cancelling the ys (you can cancel diagonally) =

x2 2 3x 4
Now cancel the 2 and 4 (you can cancel vertically)

2 into 2 goes 1 2 into 4 goes 2

x 1 3x 2 x 1 3 2

Now cancel the x and x2 (again cancelling vertically) Remember x2 is x times x !

x into x goes 1 x into x2 goes x (like 3 into 32 goes 3)

Nothing left to cancel (we can only cancel diagonally and vertically). So multiply along the top (x times 1 is x) and along the bottom (3 times 2y is 6y)

x 6

ANSWER !!

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Practice Exercises 5 Determine which of these expressions can be simplified. Simplify those that can be done. 1 2 3 4 5
ab ad xyz 5 xy x y 2x a (a 3) a 3 a (a + 1) a

6 7 8 9 10

( x 2)( x + 2) x+2 2 x 5x 3x 2 x 4 x+2 x+3 2 x 2 18 x 2 x 12 x 2 + 5x + 6

CLICK HERE FOR ANSWERS

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ANSWERS Exercise 1

Quadratic 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2a2 + 3a + 5 5y2 8y 4x2 11x y2 16 25 + y +3y2 t2 32 3b2 + b + 7 3t2 7b + 8 3b2 4t

Values of a, b and c? a = 2, b = 3, c = 5 a = 5, b = 8, c = 0 a = 4, b = 11 a = 1, b = 0, c = 16 a = 3, b = 1, c = 25 a = , b = 0, c = 32 a = 3, b = 1 , c = 7 a = 3, b = 0, c = 0 a = 3, b= 7, c = 8 a = 0, b = 4, c = 0

Type 1, 2 or 3? Type 3 Type 1 Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Type 2 Type 3 Type 1 or 2 Type 3 Not a quadratic

Note Q8 can be categorised as either Type 1 or 2 Q10 is not a quadratic because the squared term is missing. To be a quadratic, there must be a squared term!! ANSWERS Exercise 2 (1) 6a2 + 23a + 20 Type 3; (2) 49a2 4 Type 2; (3) 6x2 15x Type 1; (4) b2 + 4b + 4 Type 3; (5) 9a2 25 Type 2; (6) 5y2 7y Type 1; (7) 9 4p2 Type 2; (8) a2 6a + 9 Type 3; (9) 2b2 5b 25 Type 3; (10) 9y2 16 Type 2 ANSWERS Exercise 3 (1) a(a 5) (2) (t 3)(t + 3) (3) (4 5p)(4 + 5p) (4) (x 3)(x 2) (5) (z 1)(z + 1) (6) (2 7a)(2 + 7a) (7) 5x(x + 3) (8) (p + 1)(p + 3) (9) (p 1)(p 3) (10) (y + 3)(y 2) (11)3(a 5)(a + 5) (12) (t 7)(t + 2) (13) a(1 + a) (14) (t + 5)(t 3) (15) 3 (a + 6)(a 2) (16)(2y + 1)(y 3) (17) (3a + 1)(a + 1) (18) p(p 1) (19) (3b + 4 )(b 5 ) (20) (3t + 2)(2t + 3) Type 1 Type 2 Type 2 Type 3 Type 2 Type 2 Type 1 Type 3 Type 3 Type 3 Common factor out first then Type 2 Cut n paste first to get t2 5t 14 then Type 3 Type 1 Cut n paste first to get t2 + 2t 15 then Type 3 Take out common factor ( 3) then Type 3 Type 3 harder Type 3 harder Type 1 Type 3 harder Type 3 harder

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The Algebra Toolbox 2003 R. Bowman. All rights reserved.

ANSWERS Exercise 4 (1) x = 0 or 5 (2) p = 4 or 4 (3) a = 2 or 3 (4) b = 7 or 4 (5) y = 0 or 9 (6) a = 4 or 4 (7) x = 4 or 3 (8) d = 0 or 4 (9) y = or 7 (10) a = 4 or 1/3 ANSWERS Exercise 5 (1)

z b (2) d 5
(9)

(3) cant be done

(4) a

(5) a+1 (6) x 2

(7)

(8) x 2

1 2( x 3)

(10)

x4 x+2

x5 3

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The Algebra Toolbox 2003 R. Bowman. All rights reserved.