I am having difficulty factoring an equation.

[Meulenbelt]

It is as follows:

x³y² + 2xy³ -3x²y⁴

Thanks for your help!

 

[masters]

It is as follows:

x³y² + 2xy³ -3x²y⁴

Thanks for your help!

Hi Meulenbelt,

First of all this is a polynomial expression, not an equation.

Next, the first rule of factoring an expression is to factor out all the common factors.

If you look closely, you will see that x and y appear in all three terms.

Choose the x and y with the "smallest exponent" and factor it out.

 

[Meulenbelt]

Pardon my haste, yes it is indeed a cubic trinomial expression...

I have already factored out the common variables, but alas have gotten nowhere. I have tried rearranging the expression to form it into a cubic, but that did not work either. I am going to try to factor out the common variables and then complete the square, but I don't know if that will work either....

Hi Meulenbelt,

First of all this is a polynomial expression, not an equation.

Next, the first rule of factoring an expression is to factor out all the common factors.

If you look closely, you will see that x and y appear in all three terms.

Choose the x and y with the "smallest exponent" and factor it out.

 

[Mrspi]

Pardon my haste, yes it is indeed a cubic trinomial expression...

I have already factored out the common variables, but alas have gotten nowhere. I have tried rearranging the expression to form it into a cubic, but that did not work either. I am going to try to factor out the common variables and then complete the square, but I don't know if that will work either....

Sometimes, removing a common factor is ALL you can do. And knowing when to quit is sometimes the biggest part of the battle.

If you correctly remove a common factor, you aren't going to have any third degree (cubic) terms, so trying to rearrange the expression to form it into a cubic is not likely to be fruitful. Maybe this is one of those situations where removing a common factor is the best you can do.