Factoring Trinomials: Applying the formula

$$The equation in the problem is:

$x^2+6x+9=0$We want to solve this equation using factoring,

First, we'll check if we can factor out a common factor, but this is not possible, since there is no common factor for all three terms on the left side of the equation, we can identify that we can factor the expression on the left side using the quadratic formula for a trinomial squared, however, we prefer to factor it using the factoring method according to trinomials, let's refer to the search for Factoring by trinomials:

Let's note that the coefficient of the squared term (the term with the second power) is 1, so we can try to perform factoring according to the quick trinomial method: (This factoring is also called "automatic trinomial"),

But before we do this in the problem - let's recall the general rule for factoring by quick trinomial method:

The rule states that for the algebraic quadratic expression of the general form:

$x^2+bx+c$We can find a factorization in the form of a product if we can find two numbers $m,\hspace{4pt}n$such that the following conditions are met (conditions of the quick trinomial method):

$\begin{cases} m\cdot n=c\\ m+n=b \end{cases}$If we can find two such numbers $m,\hspace{4pt}n$then we can factor the general expression mentioned above into the form of a product and present it as:

$x^2+bx+c \\ \downarrow\\ (x+m)(x+n)$which is its factored form (product factors) of the expression,

Let's return now to the equation in the problem that we received in the last stage after arranging it:

$x^2+6x+9=0$Let's note that the coefficients from the general form we mentioned in the rule above:

$x^2+bx+c$are:$\begin{cases} c=9 \\ b=6 \end{cases}$where we didn't forget to consider the coefficient together with its sign,

Let's continue, we want to factor the expression on the left side into factors according to the quick trinomial method, above, so we'll look for a pair of numbers $m,\hspace{4pt}n$ that satisfy:

$\begin{cases} m\cdot n=9\\ m+n=6 \end{cases}$We'll try to identify this pair of numbers through logical thinking and using our knowledge of the multiplication table, we'll start from the multiplication between the two required numbers $m,\hspace{4pt}n$ that is - from the first row of the pair of requirements we mentioned in the last stage:

$m\cdot n=9$We identify that their product needs to give a positive result, and therefore we can conclude that their signs are identical,

Next, we'll consider the factors (integers) of the number 9, and from our knowledge of the multiplication table we can know that there are only two possibilities for such factors: 3 and 3, or 9 and 1, as we previously concluded that their signs must be identical, a quick check of the two possibilities regarding the fulfillment of the second condition:

$m+n=6$ will lead to a quick conclusion that the only possibility for fulfilling both of the above conditions together is:

$3,\hspace{4pt}3$That is - for:

$m=3,\hspace{4pt}n=3$(It doesn't matter which one we call m and which one we call n)

It is satisfied that:

$\begin{cases} \underline{3}\cdot \underline{3}=9\\ \underline{3}+\underline{3}=6 \end{cases}$ From here - we understood what the numbers we are looking for are and therefore we can factor the expression on the left side of the equation in question and present it as a product:

$x^2+6x+9 \\ \downarrow\\ (x+3)(x+3)$

In other words, we performed:

$x^2+bx+c \\ \downarrow\\ (x+m)(x+n)$

If so, we have factored the quadratic expression on the left side of the equation into factors using the quick trinomial method, and the equation is:

$x^2+6x+9=0 \\ \downarrow\\ (x+3)(x+3)=0\\ (x+3)^2=0\\$$$$$Where in the last stage we noticed that in the expression on the left side the term:

$(x+3)$

multiplies itself and therefore the expression can be written as a squared term:

$(x+3)^2$

Now that the expression on the left side has been factored into a product form (in this case not just a product but actually a power form) we will continue to quickly solve the equation we received:

$(x+3)^2=0$

Let's pay attention to a simple fact, on the left side there is a term raised to the second power, and on the right side the number 0,

and only 0 squared (to the second power) will give the result 0, so we get that the equation equivalent to this equation is the equation:

$x+3=0$(In the same way we could have operated algebraically in a pure form and taken the square root of both sides of the equation, we'll discuss this in a note at the end)

We'll solve this equation by moving the free number to the other side and we'll get that the only solution is:

$x=-3$Let's summarize then the stages of solving the quadratic equation using the quick trinomial factoring method, we got that:

$x^2+6x+9=0 \\ \downarrow\\ (x+3)(x+3)=0\\ (x+3)^2=0\\ \downarrow\\ x+3=0\\ x=-3$Therefore, the correct answer is answer C.

Note:

We could have reached the final equation by taking the square root of both sides of the equation, however - taking a square root involves considering two possibilities: positive and negative (it's enough to consider this only on one side, as described in the calculation below), that is, we could have performed:

$(x+3)^2=0\hspace{8pt}\text{/}\sqrt{\hspace{8pt}}\\ \downarrow\\ \sqrt{(x+3)^2}=\pm\sqrt{0} \\ x+3=\pm0\\ x+3=0$Where on the left side the root (which is a half power) and the second power canceled each other out (this follows from the law of powers for power over power), and on the right side the root of 0 is 0, and we considered two possibilities positive and negative (this is the plus-minus sign indicated) except that the sign (which is actually multiplication by one or minus one) does not affect 0 which remains 0 in both cases, and therefore we reached the same equation we reached with logical and unambiguous thinking earlier - in the solution above,

In any other case where on the right side was a number different from 0, we could have solved only by taking the root etc. and considering the two positive and negative possibilities which would then give two different possibilities for the solution.