- #1
candynrg
- 5
- 0
How do I factor this equation
x^3-1
x^3-1
when he was talking about the difference of two cubes.dextercioby said:No cubes there,just squares.
HallsofIvy said:However, to get back to the question posed before dextercioby threw his monkey wrench into the machinery: x3- 1 is a sum of cubes and can be factored as x3- 1= (x-1)(x2+ x+ 1). In general xn- yn= (x-y)(xn-1+ xn-2y+ . . .+ x2yn-3+ xyn-2+ yn-1).
roger said:how is that last general form, derived ?
The difference of squares refers to a mathematical expression in the form of (a^2 - b^2), where a and b are numbers.
The formula for finding the difference of squares is (a + b)(a - b), where a and b are the numbers in the expression.
To simplify a difference of squares, you can use the formula (a + b)(a - b) and multiply the terms together to get a final simplified expression.
The difference of squares is often used in algebra to factorize expressions and solve equations. It can also be used to simplify complicated algebraic expressions.
Yes, a difference of squares can be expanded using the FOIL method, which stands for First, Outside, Inside, Last. This will result in the original expression (a^2 - b^2).