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Algebra 1
Course: Algebra 1 > Unit 13
Lesson 8: Factoring quadratics with perfect squares- Perfect square factorization intro
- Factoring quadratics: Perfect squares
- Perfect squares intro
- Factoring perfect squares
- Identifying perfect square form
- Factoring perfect squares: negative common factor
- Factoring perfect squares: missing values
- Factoring perfect squares: shared factors
- Perfect squares
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Factoring perfect squares: negative common factor
Sal factors -4t^2-12t-9 as -1(2t+3)^2. Created by Sal Khan and Monterey Institute for Technology and Education.
Want to join the conversation?
- why can -4t^2-12t-9 only be solved by (a+b)(a+b)=a^2+2ab+b^2 and not by x^2+(a+b)x+ab?Thank you!(8 votes)
- because x^2+(a+b)x+ab has a constant 1 as leading coefficient.
while -4t^2-12t-9 has a -4 as leading coefficient.
we will need something like this to solve -4t^2-12t-9 :
(ax + b) (ax + b) = a^2x^2 + 2abx + b^2(5 votes)
- What is the exact meaning of Binomial?(5 votes)
- A binomial is polynomial with exactly 2 terms.(13 votes)
- Why is this type of a quadratic expression called a perfect square, when only the term and the last term are perfect squares?(3 votes)
- It's called a perfect square trinomial because it is created from squaring a binomial.
(a+b)^2 = a^2+2ab+b^2(3 votes)
- The answer could also be (-2t-3)(2t+3) ? But its not a perfect square...?(4 votes)
- It is the same thing as (-1)(2t+3)^2 because all you did in that factorization is multiply one of the binomials by -1.(2 votes)
- At timein the video, he says that we know the 3 is positive because if it were negative, we would get -12t. Since the 12t is positive, we know that the 3 is positive. But since we square rooted 2t (the number the multiply 3 with to get 12t), 2t could also be positive or negative. So, wouldn't it also be true if both 3 and 2t were negative? -3 * -2t = 12t? 2:50(2 votes)
- Why did he took the negative one out at the very beginning?(2 votes)
- It is much easier to factor trinomials when the leading coefficient is a positive number. It is also easier to see that the trinomial is a perfect square if the leading coefficient is a positive number. If you look at -4t^2 and -9, you aren't going to recognize them as perfect squares because a perfect square will always be positive. This is why Sal would have factored out the -1.
Hope this helps.(4 votes)
- If the "perfect square" method doesn't work, then does it mean that the trinomial is infactorable?(2 votes)
- No it doesn't. You could always use long division method and the Quadratic Formula. http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/math/algtrig/ate3/QuadLe21.gif(1 vote)
- If the 2ab term is positive, can't both a and b be negative, as well?(2 votes)
- Yes, they can! Because if both a and b are negative and are multiplied together, then the negatives cancel out. Also in the a^2 and b^2 part, if they were both negative, then when they were squared the negatives would again cancel out. Hope this helps! (-:(1 vote)
- I know that "perfect square type polynomials" follow (Ax+B)^2 form. But do they also follow the (Ax-B)^2 form?(2 votes)
- Can't use other methods such as the box method?(2 votes)
Video transcript
We need to factor negative 4t
squared minus 12t minus 9. And a good place to start is
to say, well, are there any common factors for all
of these terms? When you look at them, well
these first two are divisible by 4, these last 2 are divisible
by 3, but not all of them are divisible
any one number. Will, but you could factor out
a negative 1, but even if you factor out a negative 1-- so you
say this is the same thing as negative 1, times positive
4t squared plus 12t plus 9-- you still end up with a non-one
coefficient out here and on the second degree term,
on the t squared term. So you might want
to immediately start grouping this. And if you did factor it by
grouping, it would work, you would get the right answer. But there is something about
this equation that might pop out at you that might make it a
little bit simpler to solve. And to understand that, let's
take a little bit of a break here on the right hand side,
and just think about what happens if you take a plus b
times a plus b, if you just have a binomial squared. Well you have a times a,
which is a squared. Then you have a times that
b, which is plus ab. Then you have b times a, which
is the same thing is ab. And then you have b times b,
or you have b squared. And so if you add these middle
two terms, right here, you're left with a squared plus
2ab plus b squared. This is the square
of a binomial. Now, does this right here, does
4t squared plus 12t plus 9 fit this pattern? Well the 4t squared
is a squared. So this right here
is a squared. If that is a squared right
there, then what does a have to be? If this is a squared, then a
would be equal to the square root of this. It would be 2t. And if this is b squared,
let me do that in a different color. If this right here is b
squared, if the 9 is b squared, right there,
then that means that b is equal to 3. It's equal to the positive
square root of the 9. Now, this number, right here--
and actually it doesn't have to just be equal to 3,
it might have been negative 3 as well. It could be plus or minus 3. But this number here,
is it 2 times ab? Right? That's the middle term
that we care about. Is it 2 times ab? Well if we multiply 2t
times 3, we get 6t. And then if we multiply that
times 2, you get 12t. This right here, 12t, is equal
to 2 times 2t times 3. It is 2 times ab. And if this was a negative 3,
we would look to see if this was a negative 12, but this
does work for positive 3. So this it does fit the pattern
of a perfect square. This is a square
of a binomial. So if you wanted to factor
this-- the stuff on the inside, you still have that
negative 1 out there, the 4t squared plus 12t plus 9-- you
could immediately say, well that's going to be a plus
b times a plus b. Or 2t plus 3 times 2t plus 3, or
you could just say, it's 2t plus 3 squared. It fits this pattern. And, of course, you can't
forget about this negative 1 out here. You could have also solved it by
grouping, but this might be a quicker thing to recognize. This is a number squared. That's another number squared. If you take each of those
numbers that you're squaring, take their product and multiply
it by 2, you have that right there. So this is a perfect square.