Factoring
Factoring
Perfect Square Trinomials
Example 2
Factor 16x2 + 24xy + 9y2
Step 1. Determine if the first and last terms are perfect squares.
The first term is 16x2, which is (4x)2 - yes.
The last term is 9y2, which is (3y)2 - yes.
Step 2. Determine if the middle term fits the pattern 2ab.
a = 4 and b = 3
The middle term is 24xy, which is 2(4)(3)xy - yes.
Step 3. Substitute values for a and b into the formula.
16x2 + 24xy + 9y 2 = (42)x2 + (2)(4)(3)xy + (32)y2 = (4x + 3y)2 .