Complete the square for the following binomial. Then factor the resulting perfect square trinomial.xsquaredplusone sixth

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1 answer

To complete the square for the binomial \(x^2 + \frac{1}{6}x\), we can follow these steps:

  1. Identify the coefficient of x: The coefficient of \(x\) is \(\frac{1}{6}\).
  2. Take half of the coefficient: Half of \(\frac{1}{6}\) is \(\frac{1}{12}\).
  3. Square it: \(\left(\frac{1}{12}\right)^2 = \frac{1}{144}\).

Now, we can rewrite the binomial \(x^2 + \frac{1}{6}x\) by adding and subtracting \(\frac{1}{144}\):

\[ x^2 + \frac{1}{6}x = \left(x^2 + \frac{1}{6}x + \frac{1}{144}\right) - \frac{1}{144} \]

  1. Rewrite as a perfect square trinomial:

\[ x^2 + \frac{1}{6}x + \frac{1}{144} = \left(x + \frac{1}{12}\right)^2 \]

So we can now write the complete expression:

\[ x^2 + \frac{1}{6}x = \left(x + \frac{1}{12}\right)^2 - \frac{1}{144} \]

Thus, the completed square form is:

\[ \left(x + \frac{1}{12}\right)^2 - \frac{1}{144} \]

Finally, to factor the perfect square trinomial:

\[ \left(x + \frac{1}{12}\right)^2 \]

Putting all this together, the completed square and its factorization is:

\(\left(x + \frac{1}{12}\right)^2 - \frac{1}{144}\). The perfect square trinomial here is \(\left(x + \frac{1}{12}\right)^2\).