Question

I'm having trouble with figuring out whether a trinomial is square or not. How exactly do I do this?

Answer 1

When you say square do you mean quadratic?

Answer 2

I'm gonna assume that's what you mean. If the highest power of x in the equation is 2 then it's quadratic.

Answer 3

Specifically; x squared - 14x = 49

Answer 4

i think you may mean \[a^2+2ab+b^2=(a+b)^2\] yes?

Answer 5

so if you see
\[x^2-14x+49\] you think
\[a=x\]
\[b=-7\] because
\[(-7)^2=49\] and \[2\times -7=-14\]

Answer 6

and therefore
\[x^2-14x+49=(x-7)^2\]