JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

FACTORING POLYNOMIALS (PART I)

Module 1: Factoring with common monomial factor; Factoring difference of
two squares; Factoring the Sum and Difference of Two Cubes

MATHEMATICS 8
DEXTER CARPIO
 MODULE 1 | WEEK 1 – FIRST QUARTER: AUGUST 16 – 20, 2021
FACTORING POLYNOMIALS (PART I)

A. Factors completely different types of polynomials (polynomials with common monomial factor,
difference of two squares, sum and difference of two cubes, perfect square trinomials, and general
trinomials).

1. I can determine patterns in factoring polynomials.

2. I can factor polynomials completely and accurately using the greatest common monomial factor
(GCMF).
3. I can factor the difference of two squares.
4. I can factor the sum and difference of two cubes.

Factoring with common monomial factor; Factoring difference of two squares; Factoring the Sum and
Difference of Two Cubes

Textbook Device Writing materials Schoology Account

Dear guardian/parent,
As your child take this lesson, please ensure that he/she is taking this module seriously. You may participate
in the student’s work if necessary and possible. If you have concerns or questions, you can reach me on the
contact number that can be found at the end of this learning packet. Thank you and God bless!
- The Teacher

1 2 3
WHAT’S THE GCF SPOT THE COMMON CONCEPTS AND EXAMPLES
(10 minutes) (10 minutes) (40 minutes)

4 5
FACTOR ME ASSESSMENT
(10 minutes) (15 minutes)

PRAYER
() In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

THE MATHEMATICIAN’S PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for the blessings You gave unto us,
Add joy to the world, Subtract evil from our lives.
Multiply the good things for us. Divide the gifts and share them to others.
Convert badness to goodness. Help us raise our needs to You.
 Extract the roots of immoralities and perform our different functions in life.
Tell us all that life is as easy as math. Help us all to solve our problems.
This we ask in Jesus’ name, the greatest mathematician who ever lived on earth,
Amen.

Welcome to your first lesson in Mathematics subject for the SY 2021-2022!

This is an introductory lesson in factoring polynomials. This learning module is designed and written to
help you factor polynomials completely using different techniques and strategies. After this lesson, you are given
the opportunity to use and apply your prior knowledge and skills in multiplying and dividing polynomials.

WHAT’S THE GCF

Direction: Find the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) of each set of numbers. Write your answer on the space
provided.

1 6 and 8 GCF:

2 12, 16, and 24 GCF:

3 24, 32, 48, and 64 GCF:

SPOT THE COMMON

Direction: Identify common things that are present in the three pictures. Then, answer the processing questions
below.
 Processing Questions:
1. What are the things common to these pictures?
Answer: _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
2. Are there things that make them different?
Answer: _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
3. Can you spot things that are found on one picture but not on the other two?
Answer: _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
4. What are the things common to two pictures but are not found on the other?
Answer: _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

CONCEPTS AND EXAMPLES

What are the pairs of positive integers whose product is 72?

Using your answers which are (1 x 72, 2 x 36, 3 x 24, 4 x 18, 6 x 12, 8 x 9). The numbers 1, 2, 3,
4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 72 are called the factors of 72.

Definition
A factor is a number or an expression that divides a certain number evenly; it leaves no
remainder.
The process of finding the factors of an expression is called factoring, which is the reverse
process of multiplication.

The Common Factor and the Greatest Common Factor

An integer can be a factor of two or more integers. For example, 4 is a factor of both 32 and 48. In this
case, 4 is called a common factor of 32 and 48.

What are the other common factors of 32 and 48? Which is the highest? The factors of 32 are 1, 2, 4,
8, 16, and 32. The factors of 48 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, and 48. Therefore, the common factors are 1,
2, 4, 8, and 16. The highest common factor is 16.
 The highest common factor is called the greatest common factor (GCF). To find the GCF, you can
use the prime factorization method or listing method.

EXAMPLES
Find the GCF of the following set of positive integers using prime factorization and listing method.

Prime Factorization Listing Method GCF

9=3x3 9 = 1, 3, 9
1) 9 and 12
12 = 2 x 2 x 3 12 = 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12 3
15 = 3 x 5 15 = 1, 3, 5, 15
2) 15 and 20
20 = 2 x 2 x 5 20 = 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20 5

The GCF is the product of all the common prime factors. Because in number 1 the 3 is the highest
common factor and for the number 2 the 5 is the highest common factor, therefore, the GCF of number 1
given is 3 and for the number 2 is 5.

These are some examples of prime numbers:

2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, …

Factoring with Common Monomial Factor

Steps on how to find the GCF of monomials:

1) Get the GCF of the numerical coefficients.

2) Get the GCF of the literal coefficients (variable factors).
3) Combine or multiply the GCF of numerical coefficients and the GCF of the literal coefficients.

EXAMPLES
Find the GCF of the following set of monomials.
a) 12x3y2 and 15xy3
Solutions:
1) Get the GCF of the numerical coefficients.
12 = 2 x 2 x 3 15 = 3 x 5 GCF of 12 and 15 is 3
2) Get the GCF of the literal coefficients (variable factors).
The GCF of x3y2 and xy3 is xy2
Note: To find the GCF of literal coefficients, just pick only the lowest
exponent if the variables are the same and with different exponent.
3) Combine or multiply the GCF of numerical and literal coefficients.
GCF of numerical coefficient is 3.
GCF of literal coefficient is xy2.
Combine/multiply: 3(xy2) = 3xy2

Therefore, the GCF of 12x3y2 and 15xy3 is 3xy2.

 EXAMPLES

b) 36m2n4 and 48m8n4

Solutions:
1) 36 = 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 48 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 3
GCF of 36 and 48: 2 x 2 x 3 = 12
2) m2n4 and m8n4
GCF of m2n4 and m8n4: m2n4
Note: If the exponent is the same, copy the variable and exponent once.
3) Multiply: 12(m2n4) = 12m2n4

Therefore, the GCF of 36m2n4 and 48m8n4 is 12m2n4.

c) 16a2b2, 20a2b, and 12ab2

Solutions:
1) 16 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 20 = 2 x 2 x 5 12 = 2 x 2 x 3
GCF of 16, 20, and 12: 2 x 2 = 4
2) a2b2, a2b, and ab2
GCF of a2b2, a2b, and ab2: ab
3) Multiply: 4(ab) = 4ab

Therefore, the GCF of 16a2b2, 20a2b, and 12ab2 is 4ab.

The greatest common factor is used to factor polynomials. To completely factor the
given polynomial, divide the polynomial by its GCF, the resulting quotient is the other factor.

EXAMPLES
Factoring out the GCF.

Greatest Common Quotient of

Polynomial Factored Form
Monomial Factor (CMF) Polynomial and CMF
1) 6m + 8 2 3m + 4 2(3m + 4)
2) 15x2 + 6x 3x 5x + 2 3x(5x + 2)
3) 7w – 21z 7 w – 3z 7(w – 3z)

Factorization was first considered by ancient Greek mathematicians in

the case of integers.
Factoring Difference of Two Squares
There are some polynomials whose terms have no common factor—the terms are relatively prime.
For example, x2 – y2, x2 and y2 have no common factor because x (and also y) appears in one of the terms
only.

How will you factor x2 – y2?

Observe that x2 – y2 is a difference of two squares; x2 and y2 are squares. To easily determine the
factor of difference of two squares, just follow this format:

x2 – y2 = (x + y)( x – y)

By the commutative property, the product (x + y)(x – y) is equivalent to (x – y)(x + y).

SPOT ME
Direction: Spot and encircle all the perfect square numbers below.

Steps in Factoring the Difference of Two Squares

Before applying this method, make sure that the given polynomial is really a difference of two
squares. Remember that a difference of two squares has only two terms separated by subtraction. Both
terms must be perfect squares—the numerical coefficients must be perfect squares and the exponents of
the variables must be even number(s).

1. Express each term as a square of a monomial.

2. The factors are the sum and the difference of the two monomials.
 EXAMPLE 1

a) Factor x2 – 4

Step 1. Express each term as a square of a monomial.

Square root of x2 is x because x times x is equal to x2.
Square root of 4 is 2 because 2 x 2 is 4.

Step 2. The factors are the sum and the difference of the two monomials.
Always create two parenthesis with different operation which are the sum and
difference like this: ( + )( - ). Then put the square root of the first term which is x
and 2 for the second term.

Therefore, x2 + 4 = (x + 2)(x – 2).

EXAMPLE 2

b) Factor 9m4 – 16n8

Step 1. Express each term as a square of a monomial.

square root of first term (9m4): 3m2
square root of second term (16n8): 4n4

Step 2. The factors are the sum and the difference of the two monomials.
(3m2+ 4n4)(3m2 – 4n4)

Therefore, 9m4 – 16n8 = (3m2 + 4n4)(3m2 – 4n4)

EXAMPLE 3

c) Factor 25 – x8y6

Step 1. Express each term as a square of a monomial.

square root of first term (25): 5
square root of second term (x8y6): x4y3

Step 2. The factors are the sum and the difference of the two monomials.
(5 + x4y3)(5 – x4y3)

Therefore, 25 – x8y6 = (5 + x4y3)(5 – x4y3)

Factoring the Sum and Difference of Two Cubes
FINDING CUBE ROOT
Direction: Find the cube root of each number and expression by completing the table
below. Observe and analyze each example and follow the patterns.

Number/Expression Factors Cube root

1) 1 111 1
2) 27 333 3
3) 64 444 4
4) 216
5) 1 000
6) x3 xxx x
7) x6 x2  x2  x2 x2
8) x9 x3  x3  x3 x3
9) x12
10) x15

To easily determine the cube root of an expression, look only to their exponent
and see if it is divisible by 3. If the exponent is divisible by 3, means the expression is
perfect cube. So, you have to divide all the exponent by 3 to get the cube root of the
given expression.

There are two cases involves in sum and difference of two cubes.

Case 1: The polynomial in the Case 2: The polynomial in the

form a3 + b3 is called the sum of form a3– b3 is called the difference of
two cubes because two cubic terms two cubes because two cubic terms are
are being added together. being subtracted.

Sum of Two Cubes Formula Difference of Two Cubes Formula

a3 + b3 = (a + b)(a2 – ab + b2) a3 – b3 = (a – b)(a2 + ab + b2)

Steps in factoring polynomials of sum and difference of two cubes:

1) Choose the appropriate formula. It depends on the given.

2) Get the cube root of the first term and the second term.
3) Use “a” as the cube root of the first term and “b” as the cube root of the second term.
4) Using the appropriate formula, substitute all the value of “a” and “b”.

EXAMPLE 1
Factor x3 + 8

a) Choose the appropriate formula. It depends on the given.

Since the operation used in the given is “+” or sum, the appropriate formula is
(a + b)(a2 – ab + b2)
b) Get the cube root of the first term and the second term.
x3 = x 8=2

c) Use “a” as the cube root of the first term and “b” as the cube root of the second term.
Therefore, a = x and b = 2.

d) Using the appropriate formula, substitute all the value of “a” and “b”.
Given: x3 + 8

Formula: (a + b)(a2 – ab + b2) Values: a = x and b = 2

Solution: x3 + 8 = (a + b)(a2 – ab + b2)

Substitute the values
= (x + 2)((x)2 – (x)(2) + (2)2)
then simplify.
= (x + 2)(x2 – 2x + 4)

Therefore, the factored form of x3 + 8 is (x + 2)(x2 – 2x + 4).

EXAMPLE 2
Factor m6 – 27

Step 1: Formula: (a – b)(a2 + ab + b2)

Step 2: Cube root: m6 – 27
m6 = m2 27 = 3
Step 3: Values: a = m2 and b = 3
Step 4: Substitute: (a – b)(a2 + ab + b2)
Substitute the values
(m2 – 3)((m2)2 + (m2)(3) + (3)2) then simplify.
(m2 – 3)(m4 + 3m2 + 9)

Factored form: (m2 – 3)(m4 + 3m2 + 9)

 EXAMPLE 3
Factor x9y12 + 64

Step 1: Formula: (a + b)(a2 – ab + b2)

Step 2: Cube root: x9y12 + 64
x9y12 = x3y4 64 = 4
Step 3: Values: a = x3y4 and b = 4
Step 4: Substitute: (a + b)(a2 – ab + b2)
Substitute the values
(x3y4 + 4)((x3y4)2 – (x3y4)(4) + (4)2)
then simplify.
(x3y4 + 4)(x6y8 – 4x3y4 + 16)

Factored form: (x3y4 + 4)(x6y8 – 4x3y4 + 16)

In the part of simplifying, use the concepts and rules of multiplying polynomials and
laws of exponent that you have learned from the previous lesson in grade 7.

FACTOR ME
Direction: Factor each expression. Write your answer on the space provided.

1. 12x + 16 = ______________________
2. 8m3 – 10m = ______________________
3. n2 – 36 = ______________________
4. a6b4 – 100 = ______________________
5. k9 + 125 = ______________________

ASSESSMENT
Identification
Direction: Identify what kind of factoring can be apply in each given expression (common monomial factor,
difference of two squares, and sum and difference of two cubes). Use the legend indicated below. Then, solve
for the factor of it. Write your answer on the space provided.

Legends: CMF – Common Monomial Factor

DTS – Difference of Two Squares
SDTC – Sum and Difference of Two Cubes
 Expression Kind of Factoring Factored Form

1) w9 – 64

2) 24 + 20m – 8n

3) a6b8c10 – 81
4) –15x2 + 27x
5) m3n3 + 1

• Mathematics for the 21st Century Learner, DIWA LEARNING SYSTEM, INC.,
Robelyn F. Alagano, et. al
REFERENCES • Slide Share online site
Link: https://www.slideshare.net/albert0202/math-learner-module-k-to-12-grade-
8?from_action=save

Teacher Dexter Carpio

Contact Number 0916-763-5085
Email Address jonalynbasuel@gmail.com
Consultation Time 8 A.M. to 5 P.M.