1.

5 • Factoring Polynomials 61

Factoring a Trinomial with Leading Coefficient 1

Although we should always begin by looking for a GCF, pulling out the GCF is not the only way that polynomial
expressions can be factored. The polynomial has a GCF of 1, but it can be written as the product of the
factors and

Trinomials of the form can be factored by finding two numbers with a product of and a sum of The
trinomial for example, can be factored using the numbers and because the product of those numbers
is and their sum is The trinomial can be rewritten as the product of and

Factoring a Trinomial with Leading Coefficient 1

A trinomial of the form can be written in factored form as where and

Q&A Can every trinomial be factored as a product of binomials?

No. Some polynomials cannot be factored. These polynomials are said to be prime.

...
HOW TO

Given a trinomial in the form factor it.

1. List factors of
2. Find and a pair of factors of with a sum of
3. Write the factored expression

EXAMPLE 2

Factoring a Trinomial with Leading Coefficient 1

Factor

Solution
We have a trinomial with leading coefficient and We need to find two numbers with a product of
and a sum of In the table below, we list factors until we find a pair with the desired sum.

Factors of Sum of Factors

14

Now that we have identified and as and write the factored form as

Analysis
We can check our work by multiplying. Use FOIL to confirm that

Q&A Does the order of the factors matter?

No. Multiplication is commutative, so the order of the factors does not matter.
62 1 • Prerequisites

TRY IT #2 Factor

Factoring by Grouping
Trinomials with leading coefficients other than 1 are slightly more complicated to factor. For these trinomials, we can
factor by grouping by dividing the x term into the sum of two terms, factoring each portion of the expression
separately, and then factoring out the GCF of the entire expression. The trinomial can be rewritten as
using this process. We begin by rewriting the original expression as and then factor
each portion of the expression to obtain We then pull out the GCF of to find the factored
expression.

Factor by Grouping

To factor a trinomial in the form by grouping, we find two numbers with a product of and a sum of
We use these numbers to divide the term into the sum of two terms and factor each portion of the expression
separately, then factor out the GCF of the entire expression.

...
HOW TO

Given a trinomial in the form factor by grouping.

1. List factors of
2. Find and a pair of factors of with a sum of
3. Rewrite the original expression as
4. Pull out the GCF of
5. Pull out the GCF of
6. Factor out the GCF of the expression.

EXAMPLE 3

Factoring a Trinomial by Grouping

Factor by grouping.

Solution
We have a trinomial with and First, determine We need to find two numbers with a
product of and a sum of In the table below, we list factors until we find a pair with the desired sum.

Factors of Sum of Factors

29

13

So and

Access for free at openstax.org

 1.5 • Factoring Polynomials 63

Analysis
We can check our work by multiplying. Use FOIL to confirm that

TRY IT #3 Factor

ⓐ ⓑ
Factoring a Perfect Square Trinomial
A perfect square trinomial is a trinomial that can be written as the square of a binomial. Recall that when a binomial is
squared, the result is the square of the first term added to twice the product of the two terms and the square of the last
term.

We can use this equation to factor any perfect square trinomial.

Perfect Square Trinomials

A perfect square trinomial can be written as the square of a binomial:

...
HOW TO

Given a perfect square trinomial, factor it into the square of a binomial.

1. Confirm that the first and last term are perfect squares.
2. Confirm that the middle term is twice the product of
3. Write the factored form as

EXAMPLE 4

Factoring a Perfect Square Trinomial

Factor

Solution
Notice that and are perfect squares because and Then check to see if the middle term is
twice the product of and The middle term is, indeed, twice the product: Therefore, the trinomial is
a perfect square trinomial and can be written as

TRY IT #4 Factor

Factoring a Difference of Squares

A difference of squares is a perfect square subtracted from a perfect square. Recall that a difference of squares can be
rewritten as factors containing the same terms but opposite signs because the middle terms cancel each other out when
64 1 • Prerequisites

the two factors are multiplied.

We can use this equation to factor any differences of squares.

Differences of Squares

A difference of squares can be rewritten as two factors containing the same terms but opposite signs.

...
HOW TO

Given a difference of squares, factor it into binomials.

1. Confirm that the first and last term are perfect squares.
2. Write the factored form as

EXAMPLE 5

Factoring a Difference of Squares

Factor

Solution
Notice that and are perfect squares because and The polynomial represents a difference of
squares and can be rewritten as

TRY IT #5 Factor

Q&A Is there a formula to factor the sum of squares?

No. A sum of squares cannot be factored.

Factoring the Sum and Difference of Cubes

Now, we will look at two new special products: the sum and difference of cubes. Although the sum of squares cannot be
factored, the sum of cubes can be factored into a binomial and a trinomial.

Similarly, the difference of cubes can be factored into a binomial and a trinomial, but with different signs.

We can use the acronym SOAP to remember the signs when factoring the sum or difference of cubes. The first letter of
each word relates to the signs: Same Opposite Always Positive. For example, consider the following example.

The sign of the first 2 is the same as the sign between The sign of the term is opposite the sign between
And the sign of the last term, 4, is always positive.

Sum and Difference of Cubes

We can factor the sum of two cubes as

Access for free at openstax.org

 1.5 • Factoring Polynomials 65

We can factor the difference of two cubes as

...
HOW TO

Given a sum of cubes or difference of cubes, factor it.

1. Confirm that the first and last term are cubes, or

2. For a sum of cubes, write the factored form as For a difference of cubes, write the
factored form as

EXAMPLE 6

Factoring a Sum of Cubes

Factor

Solution
Notice that and are cubes because Rewrite the sum of cubes as

Analysis
After writing the sum of cubes this way, we might think we should check to see if the trinomial portion can be factored
further. However, the trinomial portion cannot be factored, so we do not need to check.

TRY IT #6 Factor the sum of cubes:

EXAMPLE 7

Factoring a Difference of Cubes

Factor

Solution
Notice that and are cubes because and Write the difference of cubes as

Analysis
Just as with the sum of cubes, we will not be able to further factor the trinomial portion.

TRY IT #7 Factor the difference of cubes:

Factoring Expressions with Fractional or Negative Exponents

Expressions with fractional or negative exponents can be factored by pulling out a GCF. Look for the variable or
exponent that is common to each term of the expression and pull out that variable or exponent raised to the lowest

power. These expressions follow the same factoring rules as those with integer exponents. For instance, can

be factored by pulling out and being rewritten as

66 1 • Prerequisites

EXAMPLE 8

Factoring an Expression with Fractional or Negative Exponents

Factor

Solution

Factor out the term with the lowest value of the exponent. In this case, that would be

TRY IT #8 Factor

MEDIA

Access these online resources for additional instruction and practice with factoring polynomials.

Identify GCF (http://openstax.org/l/findgcftofact)

Factor Trinomials when a Equals 1 (http://openstax.org/l/facttrinom1)
Factor Trinomials when a is not equal to 1 (http://openstax.org/l/facttrinom2)
Factor Sum or Difference of Cubes (http://openstax.org/l/sumdifcube)

1.5 SECTION EXERCISES

Verbal

1. If the terms of a polynomial 2. A polynomial is factorable, 3. How do you factor by

do not have a GCF, does that but it is not a perfect square grouping?
mean it is not factorable? trinomial or a difference of
Explain. two squares. Can you factor
the polynomial without
finding the GCF?

Algebraic

For the following exercises, find the greatest common factor.

4. 5. 6.

7. 8. 9.

For the following exercises, factor by grouping.

10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15.

Access for free at openstax.org

 1.5 • Factoring Polynomials 67

For the following exercises, factor the polynomial.

16. 17. 18.

19. 20. 21.

22. 23. 24.

25. 26. 27.

28. 29. 30.

31. 32. 33.

34. 35. 36.

For the following exercises, factor the polynomials.

37. 38. 39.

40. 41. 42.

43. 44. 45.

46. 47. 48.

49. 50.

Real-World Applications

For the following exercises, consider this scenario:

Charlotte has appointed a chairperson to lead a city beautification project. The first act is to install statues and fountains
in one of the city’s parks. The park is a rectangle with an area of m2, as shown in the figure below. The
length and width of the park are perfect factors of the area.
68 1 • Prerequisites

51. Factor by grouping to find 52. A statue is to be placed in 53. At the northwest corner of
the length and width of the the center of the park. The the park, the city is going
park. area of the base of the to install a fountain. The
statue is area of the base of the
Factor the area to find the fountain is
lengths of the sides of the Factor the area to find the
statue. lengths of the sides of the
fountain.

For the following exercise, consider the following scenario:

A school is installing a flagpole in the central plaza. The plaza is a square with side length 100 yd. as shown in the figure
below. The flagpole will take up a square plot with area yd2.

54. Find the length of the base of the flagpole by

factoring.

Extensions

For the following exercises, factor the polynomials completely.

55. 56. 57.

58. 59.

1.6 Rational Expressions

Learning Objectives
In this section, you will:
Simplify rational expressions.
Multiply rational expressions.
Divide rational expressions.
Add and subtract rational expressions.
Simplify complex rational expressions.

A pastry shop has fixed costs of per week and variable costs of per box of pastries. The shop’s costs per week in
terms of the number of boxes made, is We can divide the costs per week by the number of boxes made to
determine the cost per box of pastries.

Notice that the result is a polynomial expression divided by a second polynomial expression. In this section, we will
explore quotients of polynomial expressions.

Simplifying Rational Expressions

The quotient of two polynomial expressions is called a rational expression. We can apply the properties of fractions to

Access for free at openstax.org

 1.6 • Rational Expressions 69

rational expressions, such as simplifying the expressions by canceling common factors from the numerator and the
denominator. To do this, we first need to factor both the numerator and denominator. Let’s start with the rational
expression shown.

We can factor the numerator and denominator to rewrite the expression.

Then we can simplify that expression by canceling the common factor

...
HOW TO

Given a rational expression, simplify it.

1. Factor the numerator and denominator.

2. Cancel any common factors.

EXAMPLE 1

Simplifying Rational Expressions

Simplify

Solution

Analysis
We can cancel the common factor because any expression divided by itself is equal to 1.

Q&A Can the term be cancelled in Example 1?

No. A factor is an expression that is multiplied by another expression. The term is not a factor of the
numerator or the denominator.

TRY IT #1 Simplify

Multiplying Rational Expressions

Multiplication of rational expressions works the same way as multiplication of any other fractions. We multiply the
numerators to find the numerator of the product, and then multiply the denominators to find the denominator of the
product. Before multiplying, it is helpful to factor the numerators and denominators just as we did when simplifying
rational expressions. We are often able to simplify the product of rational expressions.

...
HOW TO

Given two rational expressions, multiply them.

1. Factor the numerator and denominator.