Pre-Algebra Examples

$\sqrt{144 - x^{2}}$

Step 1

Rewrite $144$ as $12^{2}$ .

$\sqrt{12^{2} - x^{2}}$

Step 2

Since both terms are perfect squares, factor using the difference of squares formula, $a^{2} - b^{2} = (a + b) (a - b)$ where $a = 12$ and $b = x$ .

$\sqrt{(12 + x) (12 - x)}$