Topic: Special Products and Factoring

Sub-topic: Special Products (Monomial by Polynomial)

Strategy: Use the distributive property.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

a (b c)
x ( x 2)
4 x 3 yz 2 (2 xy 5 z )
3m 2 n(2mn 4m 4 n 2 5m 2 n 3 )
4 p 4 q (5 p 3q 5 r 3 7 pq 2 r 3 )

Sub-topic: Sum and Difference of Similar Terms

Strategy: The answer will always be the difference of the squares of both terms.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

(a b)( a b)
(2 x 3 y )(2 x 3 y )
( x 5)( x 5)
(5mn 6 pq )(5mn 6 pq)
( 4 x 2 y 3 z )( 4 x 2 y 3 z )

Sub-topic: Square of a Binomial

Strategy: The answer will always be a perfect square trinomial. Always include the
signs
i.e.

(a b) 2 a 2 2ab b 2

st

1 term: Square of the first term:

nd

2 term: Twice the product of the first and last term:

(a) 2
2ab

3rd term: Square of the last term:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

(b) 2

( x y) 2
(4 x 3 y ) 2
( x 3) 2
(2 xy z ) 2
(3mn 4 p) 2

Sub-topic: Product of two binomials with like terms

Strategy: The answer is a trinomial which can be solved using the FOIL method.
i.e.

( ax b)(cx d ) acx 2 (ad bc) x bd

F: First term: Product of the first terms:

O: Outer terms: Product of the outer terms:
I: Inner terms: Product of the inner terms:
L: Last term: Product of the last terms:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

( x 2)( x 3)
( x 3)( x 5)
(2 x 3)( x 3)
(6 x 1)( x 2)
(2 x 3)(3x 4)

ax cx acx 2
ax d adx

cx b bcx
b d bd

Topic: Special Products and Factoring

Sub-topic: Factoring (Common Monomial Factor)
Strategy: Take the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) of all the terms. Take it out and
divide the terms by the GCF.
ax a a( x 1)
i.e.

a
The GCF of the expression is . The terms are then divided with it (including the
signs.
9 x 27
1.
32 x 3 128 x
2.
25 x 4 y 3 zw 2 150 x 3 y 3 zw 4 30 x 2 y 3 zw
3.

4.
5.

3r 4 s 3 6r 3 s 4 zw 4 105r 2 s 5
54 x 3 y 2 z 150 xy 4 z

(Factor completely)

Sub-topic: Difference of Two Squares

Strategy: Check first if both terms are perfect squares and if they are separated by a
minus (-) sign. The answer is a product of two binomials with similar terms but each
with different signs.

a 2 b 2 (a b)( a b)

i.e.
The square root of the first and second terms (not including the sign of the
a
b
second term are and , respectively.

1.
2.

x2 y2
x8 y 8

(Factor completely)
4 x 25 y 2
6

3.
4.
5.

16 x 6 y 2 49 z 4
16 x 4 81 y 4

(Factor completely)

Sub-topic: Perfect Square Trinomials

Strategy: Check first if the first and last terms are perfect squares and if the middle
term is twice the product of their square roots. The answer is a square of binomial.
The terms of this binomial are the square roots of the first and last term of the PST. The

sign is the same as the second term of the PST. Note: the last term should be positive for
it to become a perfect square.
i.e.

a 2 2ab b 2 (a b) 2

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

x 2 2 xy y 2
4 x 2 20 xy 25 y 2

9 x 2 30 x 25
16 x 6 y 2 32 x 3 yz 2 16 z 4

225 x 4 50 x 2 1