Question 91621
Is the following binomial a difference of squares 9a^2 - 8b^2
-----------
yes and no
-------------
No because the 8 in the 8b^2 terms is not a perfect square.
--------------
Yes because, if radicals are allowed in the factoring, 
9a^2-8b^2 could be factored as (3a-2bsqrt(2))(3a+2bsqrt(2))
---------------
The fact of the matter is every binomial can be considered to
be a "difference of squares".
Even x-y can be factored as (sqrt(x)-sqrt(y))(sqrt(x)+sqrt(y))
but it is not considered to be a "difference of squares".
-----------------
My answer to your original question would be "no".
Cheers,
Stan H.