Solving Polynomials 1 Review of Previous Methods 2 Grouping

Basic Steps Set the polynomial equal to zero Factor Set each factor equal to zero Solve each factor CHECK THE ANSWERS! Substitute the answer into the original equation & verify you get the same value on both sides of the equal sign

Greatest Common Factor (GCF) Look for the largest common number and/or variables in each term Divide each term by the common terms Factor:

Rainbow Method (2nd degree Polynomial)

Grouping Solve as you would the last 3 steps of the “Rainbow” Method Only works with 4 terms that GCF does not apply to Steps: Write polynomial in standard form Use GCF on the first 2 terms Use GCF on the last 2 terms Note: You MUST have repeated expressions in parenthesis Otherwise, it’s prime or was factored incorrectly Rewrite the factors outside the parenthesis inside their own parenthesis Write the repeated expression once in parenthesis

Grouping Example Factor