16Hit1600
Advanced MathMediumValue of a perfect-square trinomial with a linear term

Advanced Math practice question

If x + y = 4, what is the value of x² + 2xy + y² − 3(x + y)?

Answer: 4

x² + 2xy + y² = (x + y)² = 16, and 3(x + y) = 12. So the value is 16 − 12 = 4.

Common wrong answers

If you answered 1
1 comes from 4 − 3, forgetting to square the sum.
If you answered 13
13 comes from 16 − 3, not multiplying the 3 by (x + y).
If you answered 28
28 adds 12 instead of subtracting.

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