Tutor profile: Dakota C.

How do I know if two triangles are similar?

Well, similarity means that two shapes have a proportional relationship between their sides. And, because of the unique relationship between the sides and the angles of triangles, you can easily determine whether two triangles are similar. If you can find that the angles of two triangles are equal, then the triangles are similar.

How can I solve for x?

The idea behind solving for any variable is to undo everything that is happening to it. For example: 2x + 1 = 9 You need to ask yourself, "what is happening to the variable in the problem?" You can read this as "2 times a number plus 1 equals 9." So, what is happening to the number? It is being multiplied by 2 and added by 1. If you are familiar with your order of operations, then you know that multiplication happens before addition. Therefore, when you are undoing operations, you must do that backwards. So, to solve for x, you first need to subtract 1, which will give you 2x = 8. Then, you need to undo the multiplication (divide): x = 4

How can multiply two binomials?

You need to multiply each piece at a time. The most common method is called, "FOIL". This is an acronym for First, Outer, Inner, Last. Take (x + 2) (x - 3) for example. You need to multiply the first piece of each binomial: x times x. Then, you need to multiply the outer pieces: x times -3. Next, you multiply your inner pieces: 2 times x. Finally, you multiply your last two pieces: 2 times -3. Add up the products, combine like terms, and you have your answer! x^2 - 3x + 2x - 6 Your like terms are: -3x and 2x After combining these two you will get: x^2 - x - 6