## Week 11 – Factoring Polynomial Expressions

This week in math we learned about the steps for factoring polynomial expressions. These steps can be remembered using the acronym CDPEU. It’s not necessary to remember it but if it works for you, use it.

C – Common Factors

D – Difference of squares

P – Patterns within the polynomial

E – Easy – Is the leading coefficient 1 and is the expression easy to factor

U – Ugly – The expression is not easy to factor and will require further work

Also always remember to fully factor/simplify your expressions.

Example: 8$x^4$ + 10$x^2$-3

(4$x^2$ -1) (2$x^2$ + 3)

This can then be simplified to:

(2x + 1) (2x – 1) (2$x^2$ + 3)

## Bard in the Classroom

(Tragedy tableau in English 10, Block C)

## “We Remember – Liberation Poem”

This poem is an interpretation of Charles V. Feree’s journal describing his experiences liberating Jewish concentration camps during WWII. It describes the liberator’s experience as well as describing what it means to truly remember. My poem also serves as a tribute to those who lost their lives fighting for the freedom of their native countries.

The Jewish people celebrating their liberation.

Source: http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=99452

We arrived at the gates
The air heavy with the smell of gas and flesh
Infiltrating my mind, overwhelming my senses.
My eyes search the area.

Sounds of speeding bullets go off in my head.
I do not budge.
For I am motionless,
Paralyzed by the sights beginning to appear before me.
Supressing the fear churning my stomach, I enter.

Skeletons piled high, bodies on either side,
Some move slowly, others can only stare,
As we search through barracks, separating dead from dying,
Their faces twisted with pain, overflowing with suffering.

They reach out bony arms with gratitude, they are free.
But where to?
Their families have been taken, massacred, by the uniformed men.
Some seek revenge, some cannot move,
Some try to forget, others try to remember.

Remember those who were not given a chance,
Remember those whose lives were taken away,
Remember those who lost treasured family,
Remember those who are no longer able to forget.

For should we forget, we forget an important lesson.
One that reminds us of our past.
A past that we must not repeat.
And for that we remember.

## Veldt Poem

Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should

Any man with half a brain would know that, he would

Yet we are still overcome with greed
And purchase things we wand but do not need
Mankind climbs over corpses, one by one,
To catch a glimpse of the glowing sun
We fill the void, our own black hole
The act of consuming takes over our soul
Go big or go home, the bigger the better
Why do we believe, more things bring more pleasure?