How does foil work

Let's apply the F O I L method on a couple of examples. Let's go through each step of F O I L to solve this multiplication problem:. Now, let's use the F O I L method on this equation:. You can use FOIL to multiply three or more binomials if you pair them off, then factor the answer to the remaining binomial.

Then, multiply them using the F O I L method, and we get:. If you are faced with more multiplying two binomials, solve two at a time using F O I L until you are left with just one polynomial. The term polynomial refers to an expression of constants, variables, and exponents that are added, subtracted, or multiplied, like the highlighted answer above. Each term on it's on is called a monomial.

Don't foil around with partial work; get answers down on paper before you check our answers. Get better grades with tutoring from top-rated professional tutors. For your own sake, take the time to read the next page and learn how to multiply general polynomials properly. You can use the Mathway widget below to practice multiplying binomials.

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Skip to main content. Purplemath There is also a special method, useful ONLY for a two-term polynomial times another two-term polynomial. Content Continues Below. Vertical multiplication gives me this:. I'll work vertically: answer: 6 x 2 — 7 x — Instead, I'm going to write out the square explicitly; the expression they gave me means the following: x — 3 x — 3. Share This Page. And we are multiplying the 2 times 5x-7 to give us these terms.

But anyway, lets just multiply these out just to get our answer. You can just do this x to the first time to x to the first. You multiply the x to get x squared. This term right here 3 times -7 is and then you have your x right over here. And then you have this term which is 2 times 5 which is 10 times x. And then finally you have this term here in blue.

And we aren't done yet, we can simplify this a little bit. We have two like terms here. We have this We have 2 terms with a x to the first power or just an x term right over here.

So we have of something and you add 10 or in another way, you have 10 of something and you subtract 21 of them, you are going to have of that something. We put the other terms here, you have Now I said I would show you another way to do it. I want to show you why the distributive property can get us here without having to memorize FOIL. So the distributive property tells us that if we 're So we can distribute, we can distribute the 5x onto the Let me just change the order since we are used to distributing something from the left.

I just swapped the two expressions. And we can distribute this whole thing times each of these terms. Now what happens if I take 5x-7 times 3x?

Well, thats just going to be 3x times 5x So I have just distributed the 5x-7 times 3x and to that I am going to add 2 times 5x I have just distributed the 5x-7 onto the 2.