Binomial - a polynomial with two terms.

1. "Distributive" Method:

The most universal method. Applies to all polynomial multiplications, not just to binomials.

Start with the first term in the first binomial - the circled blue X. Multiply (distribute) this term
times EACH of the terms in the second binomial.

Now, take the second term in the first binomial - the circled red +3 (notice we take the sign
also). Multiply this term times EACH of the terms in the second binomial.

Add the results: xx + x2 + 3x +32

x + 2x +3x + 6
x + 5x + 6 Answer

Do you see the "distributive property" at work?

(x + 3)(x + 2) = x(x + 2) + 3(x + 2)
2. "Vertical" Method:

This is a vertical "picture" of the distributive method.

This style applies to all polynomial multiplications.

x+2

x+3

x + 2x
multiply "x" from bottom term times "x+2"

Be sure to line up
3x + 6 multiply "3" from bottom term times "x+2"
the like terms.

x + 5x + 6 add the like terms

3. "Grid" Method

This is a "table" version of the distributive method.

This style applies to all polynomial multiplications.

To multiply by the grid method, place one binomial at the top of a 2x2 grid (for binomials) and the
second binomial on the side of the grid. Place the terms such that each term with its sign lines up
with a row or column of the grid. Multiply the rows and columns of the grid to complete the interior
of the grid. Finish by adding together the entries inside the grid.
 2x + 6 + (x)(x) + 3x
2x + 6 + x2 + 3x
Answer: x2 + 5x + 6

"FOIL" Method: multiply First Outer Inner Last

The words/letters used to describe the FOIL process pertain to the distributive method for multiplying
two binomials. These words/letters do not apply to other multiplications such as a binomial times a
trinomial.

F: (x + 3)(x + 2)
O: (x + 3)(x + 2)
I: (x + 3)(x + 2)
L: (x + 3)(x + 2)

The drawback to using the FOIL lettering is that it ONLY WORKS on binomial multiplication

Special Binomial Products

So when we multiply binomials we get ... Binomial Products!

And we will look at three special cases of multiplying binomials ... so they are Special Binomial
Products.

1. Multiplying a Binomial by Itself

What happens when we square a binomial (in other words, multiply it by itself) .. ?

(a+b)2 = (a+b)(a+b) = ... ?

The result:
(a+b)2 = a2 + 2ab + b2
This illustration shows why it works:

2. Subtract Times Subtract

And what happens when we square a binomial with a minus inside?
(ab)2 = (ab)(ab) = ... ?
The result:
(ab)2 = a2 2ab + b2
3. Add Times Subtract
And then there is one more special case ... what about (a+b) times (ab) ?
(a+b)(ab) = ... ?
The result:
(a+b)(ab) = a2 b2
That was interesting! It ended up very simple.
And it is called the "difference of two squares" (the two squares are a2 and b2).
This illustration shows why it works:

a2 b2 is equal to (a+b)(ab)
Note: (ab) could be first and (a+b) second:
(ab)(a+b) = a2 b2
The Three Cases
Here are the three results we just got:
= a2 + 2ab
(a+b)2
+ b2 the "perfect square
}
= a2 2ab trinomials"
(ab)2
+ b2

(a+b) the "difference of

= a2 b2
(ab) squares"

Square of a Binomial

The square of a binomial is always a trinomial. It will be helpful to memorize these patterns for
writing squares of binomials as trinomials.
(a+b) 2=a2+2ab+b2(a+b)2=a2+2ab+b2
(ab) 2=a22ab+b2

Product of Sum and Difference of Two Binomials

How to find the product of sum and difference of two binomials with the same terms and opposite
signs?

(a + b) (a b) = a(a b) + b (a b)

= a2 ab + ba + b2

= a 2 b2

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

(First term + Second term) (First term Second term) = (First term) 2 (Second term) 2
It is stated as: The product of the binomial sum and difference is equal to the square of the first
term minus the square of the second term.

Cube Sum

A cubed binomial (sum) is equal to the cube of the fi rst, plus three times the
square of the fi rst by the second, plus three times the fi rst by the square of the
second, plus the cube of the second.
(a + b) 3 = a 3 + 3 a 2 b + 3 a b 2 + b 3
 (x + 3) 3 = x 3 + 3 x 2 3 + 3 x 3 2 + 3 3 =
= x 3 + 9x 2 + 27x + 27

Cube Diff erence

A cubed binomial (diff erence) is equal to the cube of the fi rst, minus three times
the square of the fi rst by the second, plus three times the fi rst by the square of
the second, minus the cube of the second.

(a b) 3 = a 3 3 a 2 b + 3 a b 2 b 3
(2x 3) 3 = (2x) 3 3 (2x) 2 3 + 3 2x 3 2 3 3 =
= 8x 3 36 x 2 + 54 x 27

Square of a Trinomial

A trinomial squared equals the square of the fi rst, plus the square of the second,
plus the square of the third, plus twice the fi rst times the second, plus twice the
fi rst times the third, plus twice the second times the third.
(a + b + c) 2 = a 2 + b 2 + c 2 + 2 a b + 2 a c + 2 b c
(x 2 x + 1) 2 =
= (x 2 ) 2 + (-x) 2 + 1 2 +2 x 2 (-x) + 2 x 2 1 + 2 (-x) 1=
= x 4 + x 2 + 1 - 2x 3 + 2x 2 - 2x =
= x 4 - 2x 3 + 3x 2 - 2x + 1

A quadratic trinomial is an expression of the form:

a x 2 + b x + c,
where x is a variable and a, b and c are non-zero constants. The constant a is called the leading
coefficient, b is called the linear coefficient, and c is called the additive constant.

The discriminant, D, of a quadratic trinomial is defined as the quantity:

D = b 2 4 a c.
The discriminant is used to classify or discriminate among various cases of quadratic trinomials.

A perfect square number is a number that is the square of some integer. We will be interested in
knowing whether or not the discriminant is a perfect square.

Factoring Difference of Two Perfect Squares

An algebraic term is a perfect square when the numerical coefficient (the number in front of the
variables) is a perfect square and the exponents of each of the variables are even numbers.

Factor: x2 - 9
Both x2 and 9 are perfect squares. Since subtraction is occurring between these squares, this
expression is the difference of two squares.
These answers could
also be negative
What times itself will give x2 ? The answer is x.
values, but positive
What times itself will give 9 ? The answer is 3.
values will make our
work easier.
The factors are (x + 3) and (x - 3).
Answer: (x + 3) (x - 3) or (x - 3) (x + 3) (order is not important)

Sum or Difference of Cubes

A polynomial in the forma 3 + b 3 is called a sum of cubes. A polynomial in the

form a 3 b 3 is called a difference of cubes.
Both of these polynomials have similar factored patterns:

A sum of cubes:
 A difference of cubes:

The Laws of Exponents

Rule #1: Multiplying Exponents With the Same Base

a^m X a^n = a^(m+n)

Rule #2: Dividing Exponents With the Same Base

(a^m)/(a^n) = a^(m-n)

Rule #3: Raising a Product to a Power

(aXb)^n = a^n X b^n

To raise a product of several numbers to a power, raise each number to the power. In other words, if
you wanted to raise 2q to the third power, you would have to raise the 2 and the q to the third power,
so your answer would be 8q^3.

Rule #4: Raising a Quotient to a Power

(a/b)^n = (a^n/b^n)
To raise a quotient of two numbers to a power, raise each number to the power. In other words, if you
wanted to raise 2/5 to the third power, you would have to raise the 2 and the 5 to the third power, so
your answer would be (2^3)/(5^3) or 8/125.

Rule #5: Raising an Exponent to an Additional Power

(a^m)^n = a^(mXn)
To raise an exponent to an additional power, multiply the two powers. In other words, if you wanted
to raise x^2 to the third power, you would multiply the two powers 2 and 3. This would leave you
with the answer x^6. The proof for this law is beyond the scope of this article.
Simplifying of Rational Algebraic Expressions

A "rational expression" is a polynomial fraction, and anything you could do with regular fractions you
can do with rational expressions. However, since there are variables in rational expressions, there are
some additional considerations. When you dealt with fractions, you knew that the fraction could have
any whole numbers for the numerator and denominator, as long as you didn't try to divide by zero.
When dealing with rational expressions, you will often need to evaluate the expression, and it can be
useful to know which values would cause division by zero, so you can avoid these x-values. So
probably the first thing you'll do with rational expressions is find their domains.

3
Find the domain of /x.

The domain is all values that x is allowed to be. Since I can't divide by zero (division by zero
isn't allowed), I need to find all values of x that would cause division by zero. The domain will
then be all other x-values. When is this denominator equal to zero? When x = 0.

Then the domain is "all x not equal to zero".

Multiplication of Rational Expressions

There are two ways to go about multiplying fractions:

We can multiply the numerators and the denominators and then simplify the product:

=
Or we can factor and simplify the fractions before performing the multiplication:

= = = =

The same two approaches can be applied to rational expressions. In the following examples, we'll try
both techniques: multiply, then simplify; and simplify, then multiply. An important difference
between fractions and rational expressions, though, is that we must identify any values for the
variables that would result in division by 0 since this is undefined. These excluded values must be
eliminated from the domain, the set of all possible values of the variable.

First, we'll multiply and then simplify:

Example
Proble
m
Solve
Determine if there are excluded
10a3 = 0 values, values of a which result
in 0 as a denominator14
a=0 cannot equal 0, 10a3can

The domain is all a

0
Multiply the numerators
together, and multiply the
denominators together
Simplify by finding common
factors in the numerator and
denominator
Use the common factors to
rewrite as multiplication by 1

Simplify

Answer
, a 0

Dividing Rational Expressions

We've seen that we multiply rational expression like we multiply fractions. It should come as no
surprise that we also divide rational expressions the same way we divide numerical fractions.
Specifically, to divide rational expressions, multiply the rational expression numerator by the
reciprocal of the rational expression denominator.
Lets begin by recalling division of numerical fractions:

= =

To divide rational expressions, the process is the same. But remember, we need to find the excluded
values, the variable values that would make either denominator equal zero. But there's an new
wrinkle this timebecause we divide by multiplying by the reciprocal of one of the rational
expressions, we also need to find the values that would make the numerator of that expression equal
zero. Check it out:

Example
Proble
m
Divide
 Find excluded values. 9 and 27
15x3 = 0 can never equal 0.

x=0 is an excluded value. Because 15x3 becomes the

denominator in the reciprocal

of , we must find the

values of x that would make that
term equal 0.
Rewrite division as multiplication
by the reciprocal.

Factor the numerators and

denominators.

Reorder factors and express as

multiplication by 1.

Simplify

Answer
,x 0

Adding and Subtracting Rational Expressions

We follow the same process for adding rational expressions that we do to combine numeric fractions.
To add fractions with like denominators, we add the numerators and keep the same denominator.
After adding, we express the fraction in simplest terms:

We follow the same process to add rational expressions with like denominators, but we also have to
describe the domain, the set of all possible values for the variables. The excluded values of the
domain are any values of the variable(s) that result in any denominator being equal to 0.

Let's try one:

Example
Proble Add, simplify, and state the
m

domain of
x+4=0 Determine the excluded
values by setting the
x = -4 denominator equal to 0 and
solving for x.
Since the denominators are
the same, add the
numerators.

Factor the numerator

Rewrite the common factor as

multiplication by 1

Answer
2x, x -4
To subtract rational expressions with like denominators, we follow the same process we use to
subtract fractions with like denominators. The process is just like addition of rational expressions,
except that we subtract.

Example
Proble Subtract, simplify, and state the domain
m
of
x+6=0 Determine the excluded
x = -6 values by setting the
-6 is an excluded value. denominator equal to 0 and
solving for x.
Subtract the second
numerator from the first
and keep the denominator
the same.
Be careful to distribute the
negative to both terms of
the second numerator.

Note that -7 (-8) = -7 + 8

=1

This is the final answer

because this rational
expression cannot be
simplified.
Answer
,x

Factoring Perfect Square Trinomials

We have already Squaring a binomial creates a perfect square trinomial:

discussed perfect square (a + b)2
trinomials: (a - b)2

(a + b)2 = a2 + 2ab + b2

(a - b)2 = a2 - 2ab + b2

What we need to do now, is to "remember" these patterns

so that we can be on the look-out for them when factoring.

Notice the Pattern of the

middle term:
The middle term is twice the
product of the binomial's
first and last terms.
(a + b) middle term +2ab
(a - b) middle term -2ab
In (a - b), the last term is -b.

Factor: x2 + 12x + 36

Solution:
Does this fit the pattern of a perfect square trinomial?
Yes. Both x2 and 36 are perfect squares, and 12x is twice the product of x and 6.

Since all signs are positive, the pattern is (a + b)2 = a2 + 2ab + b2.
Let a = x and b = 6.

Answer: (x + 6)2 or (x + 6)(x + 6)