Question 70672
Factor each polynomial completely. To begin, state whcih method should be applied as the first step, giventhe guidelines of this section. Then continue the exercise and factor each polynomial completely.
2p - 6q + pq - 3q^2
I am not sure I did this right but the answer I got was:
(2p-6q)+(qp-3q^2)
:
I would do it this way:
2(p - 3q) + q(p - 3q); factor out the common terms, 2 and q
:
(p - 3q)(2 + q); factored out the common term which was (p-3q)
:
Notice if you FOIL this you will get the original expression

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m^4 - 9n^4
:
You can recognize this as the difference of squares:
(m^2 - 3n^2)(m^2 + 3n^2)
:
Notice if you FOIL these, the middle terms cancel, and you have m^4 - 9n^4
:
did this make sense to you?