Pre-Algebra Examples

$a^{2} + 2 a b + b^{2} - c^{2}$

Step 1

Factor using the perfect square rule.

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Step 1.1

Check that the middle term is two times the product of the numbers being squared in the first term and third term.

$2 a b = 2 \cdot a \cdot b$

Step 1.2

Rewrite the polynomial.

$a^{2} + 2 \cdot a \cdot b + b^{2} - c^{2}$

Step 1.3

Factor using the perfect square trinomial rule $a^{2} + 2 a b + b^{2} = {(a + b)}^{2}$ , where $a = a$ and $b = b$ .

${(a + b)}^{2} - c^{2}$

Step 2

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

$(a + b + c) (a + b - c)$