Multiplying Binomials

Teacher Notes

This applet is best used after making many rectangles with the Lab Gear blocks. Use it as a way to trigger discussion of patterns. What is the relationship between the numbers in the factored form and the ones in the expanded form? How do you see that relationship visually in the image?

The applet can also be used by teachers and students to create images for copying and pasting into a word processing or other document.

For activities leading up to this conversation, and/or to follow it, see

Algebra Lab Gear: Basic Algebra, Challenges 6, 10, 15, 17, Lessons 9 and 10, and

Algebra Lab Gear: Algebra 1, Sections 3 and 6.

(Where to get the books and the blocks.)

A similar applet, also showing the corresponding parabola: Trinomial