Question

Louise completed the work shown below.

(5x3 + 3)2 = (5x3)2 + (3)2 = 25x6 + 9
Determine if Louise’s answer is correct. Explain.

Answer 1

No, Louise is incorrect because using the order of pemdas I know that (5x3+3)2 is 36. I also know that (5x3)2+(3)2 is 36 using the order of pemdas. However the 3rd problem is 25x6+9 and using pemdas I know that this would equal 234 which is not equal to 36 therefore Louise is incorrect.

Answer 2

SAMPLE RESPONSE

Explanation:

Louise’s answer is not correct. She is missing the term 30x3. When squaring a binomial, it is best to write the product of the binomial times itself. Then you can use the distributive property to multiply each term in the first binomial by each term in the second binomial. Louise also could have used the formula for a perfect square trinomial, which is found by squaring a binomial.