How to multiply trinomials

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Algebra › How to multiply trinomials

Questions 1 - 10
1

Multiply the expressions:

Explanation

You can look at this as the sum of two expressions multiplied by the difference of the same two expressions. Use the pattern

,

where and .

To find , you use the formula for perfect squares:

,

where and .

Substituting above, the final answer is .

2

Multiply:

Explanation

In order to solve, we will need to multiply each term of the first trinomial with all the terms of the second trinomial. Sum all the terms together.

Add all of the terms and combine like terms.

The answer is:

3

Evaluate the following:

Explanation

When multiplying this trinomial by this binomial, you'll need to use a modified form of FOIL, by which every term in the binomial gets multiplied by every term in the trinomial. One way to do this is to use the grid method.

You can also solve it piece-by-piece the way it is set up. First, multiply each of the three terms in the trinomail by . Then multiply each of those three terms again, this time by .

Finally, you can combine like terms after this multiplication to get your final simplified answer:

4

Evaluate the following:

Explanation

In the problem above, we are given two trinomials that we need to multiply together. To solve this problem, we need to use the distributive property to multiply each term in the first set of parentheses to each term in the second set of parentheses. We will perform 9 multiplication steps total.

Let's start with the first term in the first set of parentheses, . We will multiply this term by all three terms in the second set of parentheses, as follows:

**remember, when you multiply together two of the same variable, you add together the value of their exponents**

and

Now, we will go through the same process for the second term in the first set of parentheses, :

and

and

Finally, we'll go through the same process for the last term of the first set of parentheses, :

and

and

Now, we add together all of the values we got in our mulitplication steps:

Finally, we combine like terms to get our simplified answer:

5

Multiply:

Explanation

The easy way to perform this calculation (without using Pascal's Triangle) is to find , then square that trinomial.

So, our problem becomes

Start by distributing the first term on the left:

Now distribute the second term on the left:

Now distribute the third term on the left:

Now, combine the compatible terms:

Thus, our answer is .

6

Multiply:

Explanation

Set up this problem vertically like you would a normal multiplication problem without variables. Then, multiply the term to each term in the trinomial. Next, multiply the term to each term in the trinomial (keep in mind your placeholder!).

Then combine the two, which yields:

7

Multiply:

Explanation

Multiply each term of the first trinomial throughout the second trinomial and add all the terms together.

Combine like terms. The and terms will cancel upon addition.

The answer is:

8

Multiply:

Explanation

Multiply each term of the first trinomial with the terms of the second trinomial.

Combine like-terms.

The answer is:

9

Expand and simplify the expression:

Explanation

We are asked to expand and simplify the expression: .

This question is going to require knowledge of exponent rules and FOIL methods.

The first step is to create an inverse reciprocal of a negative exponent.

Now, we can expand the expression by removing the exponent in the denominator.

Use the FOIL method to first multiply and .

You'll find it creates . Replace it back into the expression because we have to multiply the result by one more time.

Be careful with exponents and coefficients!

Combine like terms to find the simplified answer.

10

Multiply:

Explanation

Solving this is just like using FOIL on binomials, except we have nine calculations to perform instead of four (since that's the result of a 3x3 combination!):

First, calculate the combinations of the first term on the left:

Next, calculate the combinations of the middle term on the left:

Next, calculate the combinations of the third term on the left:

Lastly, combine the terms with compatible variables and exponents:

Thus, our answer is .

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