document.write( "Question 389836: How can you determine an expression that is completely factored? \n" ); document.write( "
Algebra.Com's Answer #276391 by Alan3354(69443) You can put this solution on YOUR website! How can you determine an expression that is completely factored? \n" ); document.write( "------------- \n" ); document.write( "Never thought about that, but: \n" ); document.write( "Completely factored = prime \n" ); document.write( "If it's 1st order and there's no common factor for the 2 coefficients, it's prime. eg, x + 2, 2x + 3, 3x - 5, etc \n" ); document.write( "If there is a common factor: 4x + 8 --> 4(x + 2) \n" ); document.write( "1st order is obvious. \n" ); document.write( "------------ \n" ); document.write( "For 2nd order: \n" ); document.write( "f(x) = Ax^2 + Bx + C \n" ); document.write( "If the function is a prime number for several values of x (I don't know how many are required) the expression is prime. \n" ); document.write( "eg, f(x) = x^2 + 3x + 3 \n" ); document.write( "f(0) = 3 \n" ); document.write( "f(1) = 7 \n" ); document.write( "f(2) = 13 \n" ); document.write( "f(3) = 21 (not prime) \n" ); document.write( "f(4) = 31 \n" ); document.write( "eg, f(x) = x^2 + 4x + 6 \n" ); document.write( "f(0) = 6 (not prime) \n" ); document.write( "f(1) = 11 \n" ); document.write( "f(2) = 18 (not prime) \n" ); document.write( "f(3) = 27 (np) \n" ); document.write( "f(5) = 51 (np) \n" ); document.write( "f(7) = 73 \n" ); document.write( "f(9) = 123 (np) \n" ); document.write( "f(11) = 171 (np) \n" ); document.write( "f(13) = 227 \n" ); document.write( "Finding only one (1) prime value is sufficient to determine that a binomial is prime. \n" ); document.write( "This is sufficient for any expression, regardless of exponents. \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " |