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What is the factored form of the expression over the complex numbers?

4x²+25y²

A) (2x−5y)(2x+5y)

B) (2x+5iy)(2x+5iy)

C) (2x+5iy)(2x−5iy)

D) (2x−5iy)(2x−5iy)

1 Answer

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Final answer:

The factored form of 4x²+25y² over the complex numbers is (2x+5iy)(2x-5iy), using the imaginary unit i, where i²=-1. This enables the expression to factor as a difference of squares.

Step-by-step explanation:

The factored form of the expression 4x²+25y² over the complex numbers is not factorable using real numbers because it is a sum of squares.

However, over the complex numbers, we can use the imaginary unit i where i² = -1.

We can express 4x² as (2x)² and 25y² as (5y)².

Because the imaginary unit squared gives us -1, we can write 25y² as -(-25y²), which is -(5iy)².

This allows the expression to be written as a difference of squares: 4x² - (5iy)², which factors as (2x+5iy) and (2x-5iy).

Therefore, the correct factored form of the expression over the complex numbers is (2x+5iy)(2x-5iy), which is option C).

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