Question

Multiply and simplify: (4z - 3)(z - 1)

Answer 1

foil

Answer 2

use the distributive property

Answer 3

4z(z) - 4z - 3z +3

Answer 4

\[ (4z - 3)(z - 1)=4z+\times z-1\times 4z-3\times z+3\times 1\]

Answer 5

combine like terms, get
\[4z^2-7z+3\]

Answer 6

\((x+1)(x-2)\) -- \(FOIL\)
\((x^{2} + x + 1)(x-2)\) -- \(FOI_{1}I_{2}E_{ish}L\)

This is why FOIL is silly. It has limited application and cannot be generalized. Simply learn to multiply. It is EXACTLY like the original hand algorithm for long numbers.