To factor a quadratic expression, apply the FOIL (First, Outside, Inside, Last) method in reverse.

A line segment is a portion of a line with a measurable length. The midpoint of a line segment is the point exactly halfway between the endpoints. The midpoint bisects (cuts in half) the line segment.

A parallelogram is a quadrilateral with two sets of parallel sides. Opposite sides (a = c, b = d) and angles (red = red, blue = blue) are equal. The area of a parallelogram is base x height and the perimeter is the sum of the lengths of all sides (a + b + c + d).

A rectangle is a parallelogram containing four right angles. Opposite sides (a = c, b = d) are equal and the perimeter is the sum of the lengths of all sides (a + b + c + d) or, comonly, 2 x length x width. The area of a rectangle is length x width. A square is a rectangle with four equal length sides. The perimeter of a square is 4 x length of one side (4s) and the area is the length of one side squared (s²).

An isosceles triangle has two sides of equal length. An equilateral triangle has three sides of equal length. In a right triangle, two sides meet at a right angle.