Factoring

[earnest socket]

Hey guys, I am currently studying for my GED and this is what's stopping me from finally taking it, I am doing flashcards and I keep getting questions about factoring this equation however no matter how anyone else has explained it I struggle to understand. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!

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[glass dagger]

You should start by bringing the terms to a common denominator. So, try factoring the denominators.

[earnest socket]

That is what I am struggling with, I am unsure of how to properly factor in this scenario.

[glass dagger]

Well, we have x^2 - 9 and x^2 - 6x + 9. What common formulas do these two expressions remind you of?

[earnest socket]

Well they are quite obviously divisible by 3, so it would be (x-3) (x+3) for the first one but I struggle to understand how they multiple out with the foil method. As wont you have to multiple 3 * x which makes 3x?

[glass dagger]

Not sure what you mean by "foil method" here.
What I meant is that you can use some usual factoring formulas, like difference of squares, square/cube of sum/difference, etc.

[compact chasm]

by foil they mean by multiplying each term out individually

eg (x+3)(x+3) using the foil method their working would be:

x^2 + 3x + 3x + 9

x^2 + 6x + 9

[glass dagger]

Oh. Well, that's not really needed here.
Also, not sure why it's called "foil". Never heard of that.

[compact chasm]

FOIL is an acronym or whatevver its called, it stands for first, outer, inner, last

[glass dagger]

Oh, it's an abbreviation.

In any case, not needed here.

You can, however, use difference of squares and square of difference formulas.

[earnest socket]

Honestly I had to drop out of 10th grade so this was after my formal education so I've had to catch up on everything myself since I dont have access to any local resources.

So basically I have a lot of gaps in my knowledge.

[glass dagger]

Oh, I see.
Well, I recommend reviewing some factoring formulas. They should be present in any algebra textbook of the respective level.

[earnest socket]

Oh alright, I do have a GED book but I found most of their explanations sub-par. I'll give it a read over again in a bit as I have to go to the store soon to pick up some groceries. 😂

[compact chasm]

ohhh so thats what its called

[earnest socket]

Thanks for the help though, I'll hit the books

[compact chasm]

btw ged's are taken at 15-16 right?

like grade 11

[earnest socket]

I am turning 19 in july 😅

[glass dagger]

Oh, if that gives you trouble, try another textbook. That has helped me with some topics - changing the medium can be helpful.

Some authors write explanations that "click" better, depending on the person.

[compact chasm]

nvm wrong wording i meant do they have topics from grade 11 (not ap stuff just normal)

[earnest socket]

The GED covers mostly basic topics so kind of I guess.

I didnt get to grade 11 or 12 though so I cannot comment on what the courses were like there.

[glass dagger]

Oh, I assume GED is a kind of math exam?

[compact chasm]

btw for a topic you dont understand i reccomend searching it up on youtube or just ([topic name] explained) or ([topic name] practice questions) on google or a searh engine

itll help you immensely

[compact chasm]

yeah its like an equivalent to what people in grade 11 take and you can get jobs and stuff with it

i think

[glass dagger]

Well, can't say I recommend this method, as I've always studied by lectures and textbooks only, but whatever suits you.

[glass dagger]

Ah, so a final school exam, I see.

[compact chasm]

wdym by final

[glass dagger]

Well, the one you take to graduate school.

[earnest socket]

Its an alternative to the high school diploma here in the US, it covers all 4 major subjects; math, science, social studies, language arts. I am going to bomb science most likely but I know I will get high scores in language arts and social studies as they aren't too difficult for me.

[compact chasm]

yeah i guess

[earnest socket]

I hope I get good scores on most though so I can get into college 😄

[compact chasm]

good luck bro youll smash it trust

[glass dagger]

Oh, so it's an alternative to the school exams, and it has multiple subjects in the same exam? That's pretty interesting, haven't seen anything like that before.
Good luck on it!

[earnest socket]

Thanks for the encouragement! I am sure I will do well, I just have to study more :)

[earnest socket]

Well, its a bit hard to explain over text

Basically there are 4 subjects that are separated but you need to take all of them to get the GED.

[glass dagger]

Eh, don't worry about it. If needed, I'll research it myself.

[earnest socket]

Well thanks again for your help you two, if I need more help I shall harass you. /joke ❤️

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