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Square Trinomials

Recall that




Therefore, if a trinomial is of the form ( x)2 + 2( x)( y) + ( y)2, it can be factored into the square of a binomial.

Example 1: Is 4 x2 − 20 x + 25 a square trinomial? If so, factor it into the square of some binomial.




So it is a square trinomial, which factors as follows.




Example 2: Is x2 + 10 x + 9 a square trinomial?




So it is not a square trinomial. But x2 + 10 x + 9 is factorable.




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