Lesson 5: Factoring Special Polynomials

Module 3: Polynomials

 

Lesson 5: Factoring Special Polynomials

 

Focus

 

François Viète was a French amateur mathematician and astronomer who introduced the first systematic algebraic notation in his book In artem analyticam isagoge.

 

He was also involved in deciphering codes. While working for King Henry III in 1590, François Viète discovered the key to a Spanish cipher of 500 characters. Viète’s code-cracking skills allowed him to read the secret correspondence of France’s enemies, which, of course, gave the French a huge advantage over the Spanish. You will also add to your code-cracking and code-creating abilities by using the methods learned in this lesson to add to the complexity of your own secret code for your unit project.

In previous lessons you learned how to factor polynomials using such methods as common factors, product-sum, decomposition, and inspection. In Lesson5 you will explore a method used to factor a difference of squares.

Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to

• factor a polynomial that is a difference of squares, and explain why it is a special case of trinomial factoring where b = 0
• generalize and explain strategies used to factor a trinomial

Lesson Questions

• How are perfect squares involved in the factoring of polynomials?

• How do you select appropriate strategies for factoring polynomials?

Lesson Completion and Assessment

As you work through each lesson, complete all the questions and learning activities in your binder using paper and pencil, clearly labeling your work (they refer to this as your course folder). These include the Are you Ready, Try This, Share and Self Check questions. Check your work if answers are provided. Remember that these questions provide you with the practice and feedback that you need to successfully complete this course.
Once you have completed all of the learning activities, take the Lesson Quiz. This is the assessment for each lesson and is located under the Assess tab or by using the Quizzes link under the Activities block.

** Note – Share questions may have to be done on your own depending on your learning situation**

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