Squaring the Binomial

A response to the Misunderstood Activity
created by Soobia Siddiqui (@soobia.siddiqui)

Number of views: 105

Often, students make a common mistake in squaring a binomial where they think the square on the outside of the bracket squares the terms on the inside. I start out by demonstrating this exact mistake (without stating that it’s a mistake) and then ask the class if they think that the process was correct. I then proceed to ask what does “squaring” mean and that helps create the “aha” moment. The hope is that the mistake doesn’t get repeated in the future. 🙂