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Math Lesson 6.3.9 - Expanding Expressions of the Form (a + b + c)2

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Welcome to our Math lesson on Expanding Expressions of the Form (a + b + c)2, this is the ninth lesson of our suite of math lessons covering the topic of Special Algebraic Identities Obtained through Expanding, you can find links to the other lessons within this tutorial and access additional Math learning resources below this lesson.

Expanding Expressions of the Form (a + b + c)2

Expanding this type of expression involves two steps, in the first step we consider the first two variables as a whole. Then, we continue with the rest. In this algebraic expression we have to use the first identity (a + b)2 = a2 + 2ab + b2 twice. We have

(a + b + c)2 = [(a + b) + c]2
= (a + b)2 + 2 ∙ (a + b) ∙ c + c2
= a2 + 2ab + b2 + 2ac + 2bc + c2
= a2 + b2 + c2 + 2ab + 2ac + 2bc

In this way, we obtain the eighth special algebraic identity

(a + b + c)2 = a2 + b2 + c2 + 2ab + 2ac + 2bc

Example 8

A triangle has its sides in a ratio 2 : 3 : 4. What is the area of a square whose side length is equal to the perimeter of the triangle? Write the answer in terms of the constant k of the ratio.

Solution 8

We can express the sides of the triangle as a, b and c respectively. Hence, its perimeter is P = a + b + c. This also corresponds to the square side. Since the area A of square is obtained by raising its side length in the power two, we have

A = P2 = (a + b + c)2
= a2 + b2 + c2 + 2ab + 2ac + 2bc

Since a = 2k, b = 3k and c = 4k, we obtain

A = (2k)2 + (3k)2 + (4k)2 + 2 ∙ 2k ∙ 3k + 2 ∙ 2k ∙ 4k + 2 ∙ 3k ∙ 4k
= 4k2 + 9k2 + 16k2 + 12k2 + 16k2 + 24k2
= 81k2

This result could have been obtained by calculating the perimeter of triangle in term of k first (P = 2k + 3 k + 4 k = 9k) and then raising it by the power of two to calculate the area of square, i.e. (9k)2 = 81k2. As you see, the result is the same in both cases, so the method we used to solve this problem is confirmed as correct.

More Special Algebraic Identities Obtained through Expanding Lessons and Learning Resources

Expressions Learning Material
Tutorial IDMath Tutorial TitleTutorialVideo
Tutorial
Revision
Notes
Revision
Questions
6.3Special Algebraic Identities Obtained through Expanding
Lesson IDMath Lesson TitleLessonVideo
Lesson
6.3.1The Meaning of a Binomial
6.3.2Square of a Sum
6.3.3Square of a Difference
6.3.4Product of Conjugates
6.3.5Cube of a Sum
6.3.6Cube of a Difference
6.3.7Expanding the Algebraic Expression of the Form (a - b) · (a2 + ab + b2)
6.3.8Expanding the Algebraic Expression of the Form (a + b) · (a2 - ab + b2)
6.3.9Expanding Expressions of the Form (a + b + c)2
6.3.10Combining Special Identities

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