Grade 9

Preliminaries
P3- Polynomials and Factoring

Üsküdar American Academy

Mathematics Department
GRADE 9

Objectives:
By the end of this unit, you’ll be able to:

1. Define polynomial, root, degree, coefficient, constant term, leading term.

2. Find the degree, coefficients, leading term, leading coefficient, constant term of a
polynomial.

3. Add and subtract polynomials.

4. Multiply polynomials.

5. Factorize polynomials using common factors.

6. Factorize polynomials by grouping.

7. Factorize difference of squares.

8. Factorize trinomials of the form x2 + bx + c.

9. Factorize trinomials of the form Ax2 + Bx + C.

10. Factorize perfect-square trinomials.

11. Factorize by completing the square.

12. Factorize by using quadratic formula.

13. Factorize difference and sum of cubes.

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GRADE 9

Polynomials:
Definition: A Polynomial is an algebraic expression which has only whole number powers.

Definition: (E.J. Barbeau)

A function of a single variable x is a polynomial on its domain if we can put it in the
form
an xn + an−1 xn−1 + . . . + a1 x + a0

where an , an−1 , . . . , a1 , a0 are constants

Example:
√ 1
7x3 + 3x2 + 4x + 2, 3x2 y − 2xy − 7, 5x5 − x − 9, 3 are all polynomials.
2
1 √
− 2x + 5, x − 3 are not polynomials because their powers are not whole numbers.
x2

Types of Polynomials:

(a) Monomial: A polynomial that has only one term is called a monomial.

(b) Binomial: A polynomial that has two terms is called a binomial.

(c) Trinomial: A polynomial that has three terms is called a trinomial.

Polynomials with more than three terms are not usually given special names.

Note: A polynomial is in standard form when the terms are written in descending order.

Definition: The degree of a polynomial is the same as the highest degree of the terms
in the polynomial.

Definition: In a polynomial, the term which has the greatest degree is called the leading
term and its coefficient is called the leading coefficient.

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GRADE 9

Examples:

1. Write the following polynomials in standard form and find their degree and leading
coefficient.

(a) 1 + 3x

(b) 3 + 5x + 6x3

(c) 4 − 6x2 + 7x

Basic Operations on Polynomials

Adding and Subtrating Polynomials

To add polynomials, we add the like terms of the polynomials.

Examples:

1. Add the polynomials

(a) 3x3 − 2x2 − 7x + 1 and 7x4 − 5x3 − 4x + 5

(b) 6x2 − 5 and 6x − 5x2 + 3

(c) 12x3 + 4x2 − 6x + 3 and 7x2 − x − 1

2. Subtract,

(a) 2x3 − 5x + 4 from 6x2 + 5x − 7

(b) 10x3 + 28 from x2 − x − 1

(c) 6x3 + 6x − 7 from 3x4 − 8x

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GRADE 9

Multiplying Polynomials

To multiply a polynomial by a monomial or by another polynomial we use the distributive

properties of multiplication over addition or subtraction.

Examples:

1. Multiply,

(a) x + 2 and x2 − x − 2

(b) x + 1 and x2 − x + 1

(c) x2 + x − 2 and x2 − 3x − 4

Binomial Expansion
The process of expanding an expression of the form (a+b)n where n ∈ N is called binomial
expansion.
Examples:

1. Expand

(a) (3x + 2)2

(b) (x − 3)3

(c) (a − b)2

(d) (a + b)3

2. Evaluate 982

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GRADE 9

Square of a Trinomial:
Rule: (a + b + c)2 = a2 + b2 + c2 + 2(ab + ac + bc)

Examples:

1. Expand,

(a) (2x − 3y − z)2

(b) (4a + b − c)2

(c) (x2 − x + 1)2

Rules for Factorization:

1. a2 − b2 = (a + b)(a − b)

2. a3 − b3 = (a − b)(a2 + ab + b2 )

3. a3 + b3 = (a + b)(a2 − ab + b2 )

4. an − bn = (a − b)(an−1 + an−2 b + an−3 b2 + . . . + abn−2 + bn−1 )

5. an + bn = (a + b)(an−1 − an−2 b + an−3 b2 − . . . − abn−2 + bn−1 ) when n is an odd

natural number.

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GRADE 9

Examples:

1. Find the products

(a) (2x − 1) · (2x + 1) (c) (a + b) · (a2 − ab + b2 )

√ √ √ √
(b) ( x + y) · ( x − y) (d) (x − 1) · (x2 + x + 1)

2. Calculate 2003 · 1997.

3. Calculate the missing term in each sentence

(a) If x − y = 6 and x · y = 2 then find x2 + y 2 .

(b) If x + y = 3 and x · y = 1 then find x2 + y 2 .

1 1
(c) If x + = 5 then find x2 + 2 .
x x

(d) if x − y = 5 and x · y = 3 then find x3 − y 3 .

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GRADE 9

Factorization:
Factorization Methods:

Taking Out a Comman Factor:

If the same monomial factor occurs in each term of a polynomial, we can rewrite the
polynomial as a product of this factor.

Examples:

1. Factor the polynomials,

(a) 3x2 − 12x

(b) xy 2 + yx2

(c) 24x2 y 3 − 3xy + 6x2 y 2

(d) 7x5 + 21x4 + 35x2

(e) 5(a − b) − m(b − a)

(f) (x − y)2 − 3(x − y)

(g) a(2a − 3) − 2a + 3

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GRADE 9

Factoring by Grouping:

Sometimes it is imposible to find a common factor of all the terms in a polynomial easily.
In this case, we can first try grouping the terms with a common factor. This procedure is
called factoring by grouping.
Examples:

1. Factor the polynomials,

(a) x3 + x2 − 4x − 4

(b) x3 + x2 + x + 1

(c) 28x3 − 20x2 − 7x + 5

(d) ax + by + ay + bx

(e) ax − 3a − bx + 3b

(f) b(2a2 − 3) − a(b2 − 6)

Factorization Identities:

We can use the following identities to factorize polynomials:

(a) a2 − b2 = (a + b)(a − b)

(b) a3 + b3 = (a + b)(a2 − ab + b2 )

(c) a3 − b3 = (a − b)(a2 + ab + b2 )

(d) xn + y n = (x + y)(xn−1 − xn−2 y + xn−3 y 2 − . . . − xy n−2 + y n−1 )

where n is an odd integer.

(e) xn − y n = (x − y)(xn−1 + xn−2 y + xn−3 y 2 + . . . + xy n−2 + y n−1 )

where n is an integer.

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GRADE 9

Examples:

1. Factor the polynomials

(a) x2 − 1

(b) x2 − 4

(c) 25 − x2 y 2

2. Factor the polynomials

(a) x3 + 125

(b) x6 − 64

(c) 8x3 + 27

3. Factor the polynomials

(a) x5 + 32

(b) 1 − x5

(c) x12 + y 12

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 GRADE 9

Factoring Trinomials:

Factoring Perfect Square Trinomials:

(a + b)2 and (a − b)2 are perfect squares.

Their equivalent trinomials a2 + 2 · a · b + b2 and a2 − 2 · a · b + b2 are called perfect square
trinomials.

Examples:

1. Factor the polynomials,

(a) x2 − 4x + 4

(b) 16x2 + 24x + 9

(c) x2 − 10x + 25

(d) x2 − 2xy + y 2

(e) 9x2 + 12xy + 4y 2

Completing the Square:

Completing the square is a method in algebra that is used to write a quadratic expression in
a way such that it contains the perfect square. In simple words, we can say that completing
the square is a process where consider a quadratic equation of the ax2 + bx + c = 0 and
change it to write it in the form a(x + p)2 + q = 0. This method is generally used to find
the roots of a quadratic equation.
To apply the method of completing the square, we will follow a certain set of steps. Given
below is the process of completing the square stepwise:

Step 1: Write the quadratic equation as x2 + bx + c. (Coefficient of x2 needs to be 1.)

Step 2: Determine half of the coefficient of x.

Step 3: Add and subtract the square of the number obtained in step 2 to the expression

Step 4: Factorize the polynomial and apply the algebraic identity x2 + 2xy + y 2 = (x + y)2
to complete the square.

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GRADE 9

Examples:

1. Factor the polynomials by using completing the square method,

(a) x2 − 2x − 3

(b) x2 − x − 56

(c) x2 − 7x − 18

(d) x2 − 8x − 9

Factoring Trinomials of the form ax2 + bx + c :

Examples:

1. Factorize,

(a) x2 − x − 2

(b) x2 + 4x + 3

(c) x2 + 6x + 8

(d) (x2 − 3x)2 − 3(x2 − 3x) − 4

(e) 3x2 + 10x + 3

(f) 5x2 + 11x + 2

(g) 9x2 − 9x + 2

(h) 5x2 + 37x − 24

(i) 4x2 − 4x − 15

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GRADE 9

Mixed Exercises:

1. Factor the polynomial completely,

(a) a2 + 2ab + b2 − 9

(b) 4y 4 + x4

(c) x2 − y 2 + 4x − 6y + 13

1
2. If x2 + = 5, then find the values
x2
1
(a) x +
x

1
(b) x −
x

1 1
3. If x − = 3, then find the value of x + .
x x

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GRADE 9

4. Given: x2 − 7x + 3 = 0, find:
3
(a) x + .
x

3
(b) x −
x

5. n ∈ N is given prove that n(n + 1)(n + 2)(n + 3) + 1 is a perfect square.

6. If (21 + 1)(22 + 1)(24 + 1) . . . (2256 + 1) = 2n − 1 then find n.

7. If x2 + 2y 2 + 9 = 2xy + 6y then find x.

8. If x3 + 3x2 + 3x = 511 then find x.

9. If x3 + y 3 = 301 and xy(x + y) = 14 then find xy.

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GRADE 9

2 4
10. If x + = 8 then find (x − 3)2 + .
x−3 (x − 3)2

1
11. If a2 − 3a − 1 = 0 then find a3 − .
a3

5
12. If a 6= 2 and a3 + a2 − a − 10 = 0 then find a + .
a

r
1 1 49
13. Evaluate + + .
49 3 36

√
14. If x = 3
11 then find (x2 − 4x + 4)(x2 + 2x + 4)2 .

a2 3
15. If a2 − 6x + 3 = 0 then find + .
15 5a2

16. If ab(a + b) = 17 and a3 = 13 − b3 then find a + b.

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GRADE 9

17. Find the minimum value of (a + 5)(a + 6)(a + 7)(a + 8).

√
18. Evaluate 100 · 102 + 1.

√
19. Evaluate 19 · 20 · 21 · 22 + 1.

20. Compute the real value of x such that

10
(x2 + x + 1)(x6 + x3 + 1) =
x−1
.

Olympiad Corner,
Problems:
6
√ √

3 3 4−a
(a) If a = 9− 3 + 1 then find .
a

1 1
(b) If x + = 1 then find x25 + 25 .
x x

(c) If x, y ∈ R and (x2 + 1)(y 2 + 1) + 9 = 6(x + y) then find x2 + y 2 .

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