Algebra Examples

$9 a^{2} - 16$

Step 1

Rewrite $9 a^{2}$ as ${(3 a)}^{2}$ .

${(3 a)}^{2} - 16$

Step 2

Rewrite $16$ as $4^{2}$ .

${(3 a)}^{2} - 4^{2}$

Step 3

Since both terms are perfect squares, factor using the difference of squares formula, $a^{2} - b^{2} = (a + b) (a - b)$ where $a = 3 a$ and $b = 4$ .

$(3 a + 4) (3 a - 4)$