16x^2-1Factor the expression below. Write each factor as a polynomial in decreasing order.

Question

it is very vey hard and i need help

Answer 1

Hi Deven,

 

Your expression is 16x² - 1

 

The first thing I want you to notice about the expression is 

16 is a square (4²)

x² is a square

1 is a square

 

So this is the difference of two squares.

 

You may recall seeing something like this.

a²-b² = (a+b)(a-b)

 

In our case a = 4x and b = 1

 

So we have 

(4x)² - 1² = (4x+1)(4x-1) <--- your factors