QuestionFactor the following sum of two cubes.
Select the correct choice below and, if necessary, fill in the answer box to complete your choice.
A. (Factor completely. Simplify your answer.)
B. The polynomial is prime.
Studdy Solution
STEP 1
What is this asking?
We're asked to factor the expression , which means rewriting it as a product of simpler terms, if possible.
If it can't be factored, it's called a prime polynomial.
Watch out!
Don't forget to factor out any greatest common factor (GCF) before trying to apply any special factoring formulas!
STEP 2
1. Factor out the GCF
2. Apply the sum of cubes formula
STEP 3
Let's **look** at the expression .
We need to find the **greatest common factor** (GCF) of the two terms.
The GCF of and is **9**, so we can **factor out** a from both terms.
STEP 4
**Factoring out** the gives us:
Remember, factoring out a is the same as dividing each term by .
We can check our work by distributing the back: .
Perfect!
STEP 5
Now, we have .
Notice that can be written as .
So, we can **rewrite** the expression inside the parentheses as a **sum of cubes**:
This is exciting!
We can use the **sum of cubes formula**, which says:
STEP 6
In our case, and .
Let's **apply** the formula:
Don't forget about the we factored out earlier!
STEP 7
Putting it all together, our **fully factored expression** is:
STEP 8
The fully factored form of is .
So the answer is A. .
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