Frequently Asked Questions
Does FOIL work for trinomial times binomial?
No - FOIL only names 4 products, but trinomial-by-binomial has 6. Use the distributive property and combine like terms.
Is FOIL the same as the box method?
Yes, they produce identical results. The box (or area) method visualizes the four products in a 2x2 grid; FOIL names them in order.
What about (a + b)^3?
Apply binomial expansion: a^3 + 3a^2 b + 3ab^2 + b^3. Or square first then multiply by (a + b) again.
What is the FOIL method?
FOIL is a mnemonic for multiplying two binomials: First, Outer, Inner, Last. You multiply those four pairs of terms and then combine like terms, for example (x + 2)(x + 3) = x² + 3x + 2x + 6 = x² + 5x + 6.
How do you FOIL binomials with negative terms?
Keep each sign attached to its term as you multiply. For (x − 3)(x − 4): First x·x = x², Outer x·(−4) = −4x, Inner (−3)·x = −3x, Last (−3)·(−4) = +12, giving x² − 7x + 12.
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