How do you factor the expression $49 - (x+2)^2$ ?

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Answer 1 · 2016-01-24T11:15:27

Use the difference of squares identity to find:

$49-(x+2)^2=(5-x)(9+x)$

The difference of squares identity can be written:

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

In our example, we can put $a=7$ , $b=x+2$ as follows:

$49-(x+2)^2$

$=7^2-(x+2)^2$

$=(7-(x+2))(7+(x+2))$

$=(5-x)(9+x)$

How do you factor the expression 49 - (x+2)^249 - (x+2)^2?