Week 10- Math 10

This week was the beginning of polynomials. They’re quite simple to understand and get the hang of, but the “ugly” ones are more difficult to figure out. A trick that I learned, and that I found helpful, was using the area models.

If you are given a question like this 2+7x+6, there is an easier way to factorize it without doing everything in your head. First, we start by multiplying your first and last term, as well as starting your area model with what you know.

Then we list the multiples of 12 and see which ones add up to 7, which is our middle term. If the question has a negative term in it, you will need at least one negative term. From the list here, we see that 3 and 4 add up to 7.

Now we know what to put into the two blank squares. You can put whichever in each blank, the order of those 2 numbers doesn’t matter.

On the side, put what is common from each row horizontally on one side and the common numbers or variables, vertically, on another side. Don’t forget your signs like I did.

Now, put what you have on each side into brackets and you have your answer! For me, when I have a brain fart, this will be very useful.