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Work Out the Difference of Two Squares

In this worksheet, students will calculate the difference of two squares.

'Work Out the Difference of Two Squares' worksheet

Key stage:  KS 3

Year:  Year 9 Maths worksheets

Curriculum topic:   Number

Curriculum subtopic:   Understand Integer Powers/Real Roots

Difficulty level:  

Worksheet Overview

This activity is about working out the difference of two square numbers.

 

We use the fact that a2 - b2 factorises to (a + b) (a - b)

 

Example

Work out the difference of  these two squares:

 

4852 - 4832

 

Answer

We need to work out (485 + 483) (485 - 483)

Notice that the first bracket equals 968 and that the second bracket equals 2

 

So this is 968 x 2 = 1,936

 

Being able to find the difference between two squares in this way can sometimes make it possible to do the calculation without the use of a calculator!

 

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