What's the Formula for the Product of a Sum and a Difference?

What's the Formula for the Product of a Sum and a Difference?

Note:

Multiplying monomials like (a + b) and (a - b) is really important when it comes to factoring, so if you want to get good at factoring, you're going to have to understand how to multiply a sum like (a + b) with a difference like (a - b)!

Keywords:

  • definition
  • factoring
  • product
  • difference
  • foil
  • product of a sum and difference
  • polynomial
  • sum
  • multiply
  • expand
  • difference of squares
  • binomial

Background Tutorials

  • Evaluating Expressions

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      What is a Variable?

      You can't do algebra without working with variables, but variables can be confusing. If you've ever wondered what variables are, then this tutorial is for you!

  • FOIL and Multiplying Binomials

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      How Do You Multiply Binomials Using FOIL?

      Looking for practice using the FOIL method? This tutorial delivers! It takes you step-by-step through the FOIL method as you multiply together to binomials.

      • What's FOIL?What's FOIL?

      What's FOIL?

      The FOIL method. No, not aluminum foil! The FOIL method stands for First, Outer, Inner, and Last. It's a popular way multiply two binomials together. This tutorial makes the FOIL method a breeze!

  • Simplifying Expressions

      • What's a Term?What's a Term?

      What's a Term?

      Polynomials are those expressions that have variables raised to all sorts of powers and multiplied by all types of numbers. When you work with polynomials you need to know a bit of vocabulary, and one of the words you need to feel comfortable with is 'term'. So check out this tutorial, where you'll learn exactly what a 'term' in a polynomial is all about.

Further Exploration