mistakes. In the next chapter, you will discover a third way to approach this problem that you may find
even easier than the methods above.
Multiplying Binomials
Multiplying binomials is easy. Just be sure to use FOIL (First, Outer, Inner, Last).
Combine Similar Terms First
When manipulating long, complicated algebraic expressions, combine all similar terms before doing
anything else. In other words, if one of the terms is 5x and another is –3x, simply combine them into 2x.
Then you won’t have as many terms to work with. Here’s an example:
(3x^2 + 3x + 4) + (2 – x) – (6 + 2x) =
3 x^2 + 3x + 4 + 2 – x − 6 – 2x =
3 x^2 + (3x − x –2x) + (4 + 2 – 6) =
3 x^2TERMinology
Remember: A term is a
number, variable, or a
number and variable that
are combined by multipli-
cation or division. So in
the expression 6x + 10 = y,
6 x, 10, and y are all terms.
6 x + 10, however, is not
a term because a term
includes only variables and
their coefficients.Evaluating Expressions
Sometimes you will be given the value of one of the variables in an algebraic expression and asked to
find the value of the entire expression. All you have to do is plug in the given value and see what you
come up with.