Question

Expand and simplify
(3x – 5)²​

Answer 1

9x²-30x+25

Explanation:

Make sure you don't just square the separate terms (I used to struggle to remember that lol)

Expand the problem:

(3x-5)(3x-5)

The method is called FOIL (First, Outside, Inside, Last)

I just think about it like distributing the 1st term to the second parentheses, and then repeating with the 2nd term.

Expanded, the result would be:

(3x · 3x) + (3x · (-5)) + (-5·3x) + (-5·(-5))

Since this is fairly simple, you can do most of it in your head! I would write it out as:

9x²-15x-15x + 25, then simplify to :

9x²-30x+25

You got this!