Multiplying Polynomials

Front

What is a polynomial?

Back

A polynomial is a mathematical expression consisting of variables, coefficients, and non-negative integer exponents, combined using addition, subtraction, and multiplication.

Front

What does it mean to multiply polynomials?

Back

Multiplying polynomials involves using the distributive property to multiply each term in one polynomial by each term in another polynomial.

Front

What is the distributive property?

Back

The distributive property states that a(b + c) = ab + ac, allowing you to distribute a single term across terms in parentheses.

Front

How do you multiply a binomial by a binomial?

Back

To multiply a binomial by a binomial, use the FOIL method: First, Outer, Inner, Last to combine the products of the terms.

Front

What is the FOIL method?

Back

The FOIL method is a technique for multiplying two binomials: Multiply the First terms, the Outer terms, the Inner terms, and the Last terms, then combine like terms.

Front

What is a like term?

Back

Like terms are terms that have the same variable raised to the same power, allowing them to be combined through addition or subtraction.

Front

What is the degree of a polynomial?

Back

The degree of a polynomial is the highest power of the variable in the expression.

Front

What is the leading coefficient of a polynomial?

Back

The leading coefficient is the coefficient of the term with the highest degree in a polynomial.

Front

How do you simplify a polynomial expression?

Back

To simplify a polynomial expression, combine like terms and arrange the terms in descending order of their degrees.

Front

What is the result of multiplying (x + 7)(x - 2)?

Back

The result is x² + 5x - 14.