Factor the expression below completely. All coefficients should be integers.
F * SQUAREx^2 + F * CONSTANT
We can start by factoring a \green{F}
out of each term:
\qquad \green{F}(\pink{SQUAREx^2} - \blue{abs(CONSTANT)})
The second term is of the form \pink{a^2} - \blue{b^2}
,
which is a difference of two squares so we can factor it as
\green{F}(\pink{a} + \blue{b})(\pink{a} - \blue{b})
.
What are the values of \pink{a}
and \blue{b}
?
\qquad \pink{a = \sqrt{SQUAREx^2} = Ax}
\qquad \blue{b = \sqrt{B * B} = B}
Use the values we found for \pink{a}
and \blue{b}
to complete the factored expression,
\green{F}(\pink{a} + \blue{b})(\pink{a} - \blue{b})
.
So we can factor the expression as:
\green{F}(\pink{Ax} + \blue{B})
(\pink{Ax} - \blue{B})