Use the Distributive Property to find which expression is equivalent to 9x2−25 .(1 point)

(4.5x+12.5)(4.5x−12.5)
(3x+5)(3x−5)
9x(x−25)
(3x+5)^2

1 answer

To use the Distributive Property (also known as the FOIL method for binomials) to find an expression equivalent to \(9x^2 - 25\), we need to recognize that \(9x^2 - 25\) is a difference of squares, which can be factored as:

\[ a^2 - b^2 = (a - b)(a + b) \]

In this case, we can write \(9x^2 - 25\) as:

\[ (3x)^2 - 5^2 \]

Using the difference of squares formula:

\[ (3x - 5)(3x + 5) \]

Now, let's analyze the provided options:

  1. \((4.5x + 12.5)(4.5x - 12.5)\) does not match.
  2. \((3x + 5)(3x - 5)\) matches our factorization.
  3. \(9x(x - 25)\) does not match because it's not a correct factorization.
  4. \((3x + 5)^2\) is also not a match.

Thus, the expression equivalent to \(9x^2 - 25\) is:

\((3x + 5)(3x - 5)\).