Chapter 7 Factoring Polynomials

Students should become fluent in factoring procedures, but it is also important to foster conceptual understanding. One way to accomplish this is to have students explore connections between factoring polynomials and factoring integers, a topic studied in earlier grades. For example, some polynomials are factorable, just as some integers are factorable. Likewise, some polynomials are prime or not factorable, just as some integers are prime.Solving problems in context teaches students that changing the form of an expression, such as by factoring, is not merely algorithmic symbol manipulation. Understanding what different forms of an expression reveal guides the process of problem solving.

Common Core: CC.9-12.A.SSE.2 CC.9-12.A.SSE.1b*