How do you factor 36x^2 - 25?

1 Answer
Oct 31, 2015

Use the difference of squares identity to find:

36x^2-25 = (6x-5)(6x+5)

Explanation:

The difference of squares identity can be written:

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

In the case of 36x^2 - 25, notice that 36x^2 = (6x)^2 and 25 = 5^2, so we get:

36x^2-25 = (6x)^2-5^2 = (6x-5)(6x+5)