Factor completely. Check by multiplying the factors. $p ^ { 2 } - s ^ { 2 }$
A) $( p - s ) ( p - s )$
B) $( p - s ) s$
C) $p ( p + s )$
D) $( p - s ) ( p + s )$
E) $( p + s ) s$

Question

Factor completely. Check by multiplying the factors. $p ^ { 2 } - s ^ { 2 }$
A) $( p - s ) ( p - s )$ 
B) $( p - s ) s$ 
C) $p ( p + s )$ 
D) $( p - s ) ( p + s )$ 
E) $( p + s ) s$

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This expression is a difference of squares, which factors to $(p-s)(p+s)$. To check, we can use the distributive property: $(p-s)(p+s)=p(p)+p(s)-s(p)-s(s)=p^2-s^2$, which is the original expression. Therefore, the correct choice is D.

Factor Completely p2−s2p ^ { 2 } - s ^ { 2 }p2−s2

Factor Completely $p ^ { 2 } - s ^ { 2 }$