How do you factor 25x^2-9?

1 Answer
Jul 26, 2015

You write the expression as a difference of two perfect squares.

Explanation:

You can factor your expression by writing it as a difference of two perfect squares, for which you know that

a^2 - b^2 = (a-b)(a+b)

In your case, you can write

25x^2 - 9 = 5x * 5x - 3 * 3, which is equivalent to

(5x)^2 - 3^2 = color(green)((5x-3)(5x+3))