Unit
Factoring
MA, Stanford University
Teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area
Alissa is currently a teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area and Brightstorm users love her clear, concise explanations of tough concepts
Review of the Methods of Factoring - Problem 7
Cancel
MA, Stanford University
Teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area
Alissa is currently a teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area and Brightstorm users love her clear, concise explanations of tough concepts
If you notice a pattern in the coefficients of a polynomial and feel like you're "so close" to factoring, it could be you could try a u-substitution. This is also often used when you notice that the exponent in the middle term of a trinomial is half the exponent of the first term. Try making u equal to x-to the exponent that is half of the degree. Your polynomial would thus start with a u^2 term. If you can factor in terms of u, don't forget to go back and re-write it in terms of x. Always check to see if any of your factors can be factored further.
Transcript Coming Soon!
