Basic Algebra/Factoring/Squares of Trinomials

Special Products Squares of Trinomials Directions: Please factor the following. 4a2+20a+25

Step 1. Verify that the first term and the third term are both perfect squares. 4a2 --> The coefficient is a perfect square, 4, and the exponent of a2 is even. The square root of 4a2 is 2a. 25 --> This is a perfect square. The square root of 25 is 5.

Step 2. Verify that the middle term is twice the product of the square roots of the first and third term. 2a*5=10a 2(10a)=20a 20a is the middle term

Step 3. Use the standard form above to write the factored form. (2a+5)(2a+5) (2a+5)2