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reSolve: Algebra: Sums & Differences of Squares

Teacher guide reSolve: Algebra: Sums & Differences of Squares

TLF ID M021844

This sequence of three lessons explores sums and differences of two squares. Students are introduced to the historical context of using lookup tables for multiplications and challenged to investigate and generalise the underlying process using algebraic means. In subsequent lessons students use visual and algebraic methods that rely on the sums and differences of squares to determine factors and primality and use spreadsheets or coding to trial these methods. Each lesson is outlined in detail including curriculum links, materials needed, discussion points and student resources such as spreadsheets. This sequence is part of the reSolve: Maths by Inquiry program.

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Educational details

Educational value
  • This resource is extremely valuable for supporting the Number and Algebra strand of year 10 mathematics. It relates to the content description about expanding binomial products and factorising monic quadratic expressions. There are multiple opportunities during the lessons where students are given opportunities to explore the binomial expansion of perfect squares and factorisation of expressions, particularly using the difference of two squares.
Year level

10

Topics Algebraic terms Equations Binomials Binocular vision Difference of squares Indices Distributivity
Learning area
  • Mathematics

Other details

Contributors
  • Contributor
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Description: Data manager
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au/
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: Australian Government Department of Education and Training
  • Organization: Australian Government Department of Education and Training
  • Publisher
  • Name: Australian Academy of Science
  • Organization: Australian Academy of Science
  • Description: Publisher
  • URL: https://www.science.org.au/
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Unknown
Learning Resource Type
  • Online
Rights
  • © Australian Government Department of Education and Training 2018. Unless otherwise indicated, this material may be used in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.