VALUEDSEED MATHEMATICS FOR TERMINAL JSS 3 LES

SON.

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My name is Miss MIMI

Today, we will talk about ALGEBRAIC EXPRESSIONS once

again (Animation: Algebraic Expressions II )

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to factorize

algebraic expressions, tackle questions that involves the

difference of two squares and solve questions on perfect

squares

Let’s get started!

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When working with algebraic expressions, factorization is a

common method. It means writing an algebraic expression in

terms of its factors.

Let’s see how factorization works using these examples

Brief pause

1. Factorize 3xy + 6yz

2. Factorize 2mn2 - 16m2n
3. Factorize mn-pq+pn-qm completely

Solution

1. (Animation: Display ‘3xy + 6yz’ )

To factorize this algebraic expression, we will find the factors
that is common to both terms. That is; a factor or factors that
can divide 3xy and 6yz without remainder.

Let’s look at the factors that are common to both terms. 3 can
divide this first term 3xy and the second term 6xy, so, let’s
write 3 here (Animation: This can be written in the space
for rough work)

x can divide 3xy but can’t divide 6yz, so it is not a common

factor of both terms. The last letter y can divide 3xy and 6yz
so it is a common factor of both terms. We will write y just
beside 3 here. So, we have the common factor as 3y.

Now, we will introduce a bracket to complete the factorization.

We will open a bracket just in front of the factor 3y here.
(Animation: We should have 3y ( ) )

The next step is to divide each term in this expression by the

common factor. That is, we will divide 3xy by 3y.3 divides 3 to
give 1 and y divides y to give 1. 1 x 1 times x is x. We have x in
the bracket here
(Animation: Display; 3y(x + ) )

3y will divide 6yz to give 2z since 6 divided by 3 is 2 and y

divides y to give 1. (Animation: Display; 3y(x + 2z) )

The expression can not be simplified further. The answer is

3y(x + 2z)

Note that when you expand the answer, you will get the
question. So, expansion is like the opposite of factorization
and you can use this process to check if your solution to
the question is accurate
2. (Animation: Display ‘2mn2 - 16m2n’ )

The factors common to both terms in this expression is 2, m,

and n. so we will write 2mn as the common factor outside the
bracket here.
(Animation: Display 2mn ( ) )

Now, we will divide each term in the expression by the common

factor. This means, 2mn2 and 16m2n will be divided by 2mn. 2 x
m x n x n divided by 2 x m x n leaves us with only n here
(Animation: Use this format to divide 2 x m x n x n by 2 x
m x n. Lightly cross out 2 and m to be left with n. Display
2mn (n - ) )

And 16 x m x m x n divided by 2 x m x n is 8m. (Animation:

Display; 2mn(n - 8m) )

This expression can’t be factorized further. The answer is

2mn(n - 8m)

3. (Animation: Display; mn-pq+pn-qm )

To factorize this expression, we have to rearrange the terms

so that like terms can be together.

mn and -qm have the common factor m, so they can be

arranged together while pn and -pq have the common factor p,
so they can be grouped together. That means, we will have the
expression rearranged like this; mn - qm + pn - pq.

(Animators: highlight the variables being moved with their

signs)
Note that the sign in front of each variable is moved with
the variable when arranging like terms. For example; minus
qm moved to meet mn.

We will now factorize using the common factors. We will

introduce two brackets here and here to differentiate the
like terms.
(Animation: Display; ( ) ( ) )

In the first group, (Animation: Highlight mn - qm in mn - qm

+ pn - pq) m is a common factor since it can divide mn and
qm. So we will write m just in front of this first bracket.
(Animation: Display; m ( ) ( ))
m x n divided by m will give n. we will write n inside the bracket
here.
(Animation: Display; m (n - ) ( ))
q x m divided by m will give q, we will write q here.
(Animation: Display; m ( n-q) ( ))

In the second bracket, p is the common factor. We will write

p outside the bracket here. (Animation: Display; m (n - q) +
p ( ))

pn divided by p is n and pq divided by p is q.

(Animation: Display; m (n - q) + p (n - q) )

Note that we have the same terms in both brackets. So, we will
pick one of them and write it in a bracket, that is, (n - q).
Next, we will pick the terms outside the brackets and bring
them together in another bracket. That is (m + p).

The answer is (n-q)(m+p)

You will notice that the expression in the brackets are the
same, this has to be the case for your solution to be
correct. If you don’t get the same expression in both
brackets when working on questions like this, it means there
are errors in your solution.

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We will move on to the factorization of quadratic

expressions. A quadratic expression is an expression in which

the highest power of the unknown is two. It is always in the

form;

ax2 + bx + c

(Animators: highlight the power of 2 in the equations

displayed)

Examples of quadratic expressions are; x 2 + 8x + 16, 9 - a2 and

y2-3y + 2

Note that When we factorize a quadratic expression, we show

it as a product of its factors.

We will work on some examples to understand better

Examples
Factorize the expression x2 + 5x + 6

Solution

The first step is to multiply the coefficient of x 2 with the

whole number which is 6 in the expression. This is because we
need two factors whose product will be the same value with the
product of the coefficient of x 2 and 6 and their sum will be
equal to the second term (5x) in the expression.
The coefficient of x2 is 1, one times 6 is 6. This means we are
looking for two factors whose sum is 5, and their product is
6.

We can start by listing the factors of six like this;

Factors Sum=(5) Product=(6)

6 and 1 6 + 1= 7 6x1=6
these set can’t work because of the sum
let’s try the next group.
3 and 2 3+2=5 3x2=6
So, we can use the factors, 2 and 3.

Next, we will replace the middle term 5x with the factors 2x

and 3x. That is; x2+2x+3x+6. Then, we can factorize the
expression.

To factorize, we will group the expression into two by

introducing brackets. Each bracket will contain two terms like
this (x2 + 2x) + (3x+6).
(Animation: Display; ( )+ ( ) )

For the first group, x is the common factor, so we will write x

outside the first bracket here. (Animation: Display; x ( )+
( ) )

x2 divided by x is x, we will write x inside the bracket. 2x

divided by x is 2, we have 2 here (Animation: Display; x(x +
2) +( ) )

For the second bracket, 3 is the common factor, so we will

write 3 outside the bracket here.
(Animation: Display; x(x+2 )+3( ) )

3x divided by 3 is x. we will write x in the bracket.

 (Animation: Display; x(x+2)+3(x+ ) )
6 divided by 3 is 2. we will write 2 here
(Animation: Display; x(x+2) +3(x+2) )

Next, we will pick one out of the same terms in a bracket, that
is, (x+2)
Then, we will group the terms outside the brackets together in
another bracket. That is (x+3)

The factors are (x+2)(x+3)

Here is another question

If (a-2) is a factor of 3a2-10a+8, find the other factor

To find the other factor, we need to factorize the expression.

We will start by multiplying the coefficient of a 2 which is 3 by
the whole number in the expression. 3 times 8 is 24. Let’s note
that down.

Then, we will find two factors whose sum will give us -10 and
their product 24. The two factors are -4 and -6 because -4 +
(-6) is -10 and -4 times -6 is 24.

Next, we will replace the middle term -10a with the factors -
4a and -6a. That is, we will have, 3a2- 4a - 6a + 8.
Now, we can factorize the expression.

Note that the minus sign separates the two groups. 3a 2- 4a and
6a + 8.
(Animation: Display; ( )- ( ) )

In the first group, (Animation: Highlight 3a2- 4a in 3a2- 4a

- 6a + 8)
a is the common factor so we will write a outside the bracket.
(Animation: Display; a( )- ( ) )

3a2 divided by a is 3a, we have 3a inside the bracket here

(Animation: Display; a( 3a - )- ( ) ).

4a divided by a is 4, we will write 4 here.

(Animation: Display; a(3a-4) - ( ) )

In the next group, 2 is a common factor that can divide both 6

and 8 so we will write 2 outside the bracket. (Animation:
Display; a(3a-4) -2( ) )

6a divided by 2 is 3a. we have 3a here. (Animation: Display;

a(3a-4)- 2(3a ) )

Now, note that this plus sign will change to minus because
negative times positive is negative. (Animation: Highlight the
‘+’ in the second bracket and change it to ‘-’ as VO
explains)

8 divided by 2 is 4. we have 4 here.

(Animation: Display; a(3a-4)-2(3a-4) )
The factors are (3a-4) and (a-2). We already know that one
of the factors is (a-2) from the question, so, the other factor
is (3a-4)
The answer is (3a-4)

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Let’s talk about the difference of two squares.

To square a number means that the base of that number is 2.
For example; 32 and 102 are squared numbers.
(Animators; Highlight the powers of 2)
It also means that the number involved is multiplied by itself,
that is 32 = 3 times 3 which is equal to 9.
As it is with numbers, we also have squares in algebra.
Examples include; x2, y2, m2, e.t.c

Difference means subtraction or minus.

The difference of two squares in algebraic expressions
involves the subtraction of one square from the other just like
subtracting y2 from x2 (x2- y2).
The difference of the squares of two terms is equal to the
product of their sum and their difference. So, if we have the
squares of two terms x and y, the difference of their squares
x2- y2 is equal to (x+y)(x-y)

Let’s move on with these examples

Brief pause

Factorize the following

1. 232-72
2. X2-9
3. 992-1
4. 1-16x2

Solution

1. 232-72

Note that the difference of the squares of two terms is the

product of their sum and their difference. This means 232-72 is
equal to (23+7) x (23-7).

23 plus 7 is 30, (Animation: Display ‘(30)’ on the next line.)

And 23 minus 7 is 16. (Animation: Put ‘(16)’ beside (30) )
Next, we will multiply 30 and 16. 30 times 16 is 480.

The answer is 480

2. X2-9

The first step here is to express 9 as a square so that we can

find the difference of both squares. 9 is the same as 3 2, so the
expression can be rewritten as; x2-32.
Since the difference of two squares is the product of their
sum and difference, the difference of squares of x2-32 is
(x+3)(x-3)

3. 992-1

Just like the last question, we will express the second term
which is 1, as a square to solve this expression. 1 2 is the same
as 1, so, we have, 992-12.
Finding the difference of the two squares; 99 2-12 will give us
(99+1)(99-1).
99+1 is 100 and 99-1 is 98

Next, we will multiply 100 and 98. 100 times 98 is 9800

Therefore, the answer is 9800

4. 1-16x2

The first step is to write 1 and 16 in a square form to make it

easier to simplify the expression. 1 = 1 2 and 16 = 42, so we can
rewrite the expression as 12- 42x2

Since 4 and x are together, we can introduce a bracket and

write them in this form (4x)2 which is the same as 42x2.
The expression now becomes; 12-(4x)2
The difference of squares of the expression 1 2-(4x)2 is equal to
(1+4x)(1-4x)
The answer is (1+4x)(1-4x)

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Perfect squares are numbers that can be expressed as squares.

For example; 16 is the square of 4, so it is a perfect square.
Other examples of perfect squares include, 4, 9, 25, 36, e.t.c

Perfect squares are also found in algebraic expressions. 4a2-

20ab+25b2 is a perfect square because it is the square of 2a-
5b. This means if we expand 2a-5b 2, we will get 4a2-
20ab+25b2 .
Let’s work on some likely questions you might encounter on
perfect squares

Brief pause

Examples

1. What value of k will make x2+8x+k a perfect square

Solution
An easy way to find k is to divide the coefficient of x by 2 and
square the answer
That is, we first divide the coefficient of x by 2. The
coefficient of x is 8 and 8 divided by 2 is 4.

Next is to find the square of 4. the square of 4 is 4 times 4,

which is 16.
Therefore, k is equal to 16
So, the value of k that will make x 2+8x+k a perfect square is
16.
You can check if the solution is correct by factorizing the
expression, x2+8x+16.
Two factors whose sum will give 8 and product will give 16 is 4
and 4. 4 plus 4 is 8 and 4 times 4 is 16. Replacing 8x with the
factors will give us x2 + 4x + 4x + 16.
Factorizing the expression will give us x(x+4) + 4(x+4). So,
the factors are (x+4) and (x+4) which is the same as (x + 4)2

Therefore, the value of k is 16

Let’s look at another example

Find the value of y in the expression x2-6x + y

Solution
To find y, we will divide the coefficient of x by 2 and square
the answer. The coefficient of x is 6 so, 6 divided by 2 is 3.

Next is to find the square of 3. The square of 3 is 3 times 3

which is equal to 9.
Therefore, the value of y is 9

You can study these practice questions to assess how well you
understand this lesson

(Animation: Display practice questions)

1. Simplify 3abc+6bc+7c-4bc-2c
2. Factorise 1-(a-b)2

We have come to the end of this lesson. We learnt how to

factorize algebraic expressions, and how to solve questions
involving the difference of squares and perfect squares.

I hope you enjoyed the lesson

See you in the next class
Bye