Day: November 5, 2017

This week was about polynomials. I was like a review of what we did in grade 9 plus an extension on it. We started with distributing binomials like (x-1)(x+3) and then to trinomials such as (x+1)(x-4+y). There was this one trick we learned that I find very helpful and useful. Here’s how it works:

Say you have a question like this (3m+7)( -3m +6). Drawing out the algebra tiles for this would be a hassle so I will do the area diagram trick! First, I would draw this

It looks like a weird hashtag. Next, I will place each term in along the sides like so and it should look like the picture below:

Then, I will multiply the numbers and simplify to get my final answer.

Just like that and you’re done!