What does FOIL stand for?

What does FOIL stand for?

• A. Found, Outer, Inner, Last
• B. First, Outer, Inner, Last
• C. Front, Outer, Inner, Last
• D. First, One, Inner, Last

Answer: (B)

This examines a mnemonic used for multiplying binomials. FOIL stands for First, Outer, Inner, Last, which is the order you multiply the components of two binomials to get all four products. Using this, for example, (x + 4)(x + 2) gives: First x·x = x^2, Outer x·2 = 2x, Inner 4·x = 4x, Last 4·2 = 8. Combine to get x^2 + 6x + 8. The sequence ensures you don’t miss any product and aligns with the distributive property (a + b)(c + d) = ac + ad + bc + bd. Other phrasing like Found, Front, or One isn’t the standard mnemonic used for this purpose, so the established wording First, Outer, Inner, Last is the best fit.

This examines a mnemonic used for multiplying binomials. FOIL stands for First, Outer, Inner, Last, which is the order you multiply the components of two binomials to get all four products.

Using this, for example, (x + 4)(x + 2) gives: First x·x = x^2, Outer x·2 = 2x, Inner 4·x = 4x, Last 4·2 = 8. Combine to get x^2 + 6x + 8. The sequence ensures you don’t miss any product and aligns with the distributive property (a + b)(c + d) = ac + ad + bc + bd.

Other phrasing like Found, Front, or One isn’t the standard mnemonic used for this purpose, so the established wording First, Outer, Inner, Last is the best fit.