Nokea
Apply the polynomial identity to rewrite (a + b)².
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: When you see something like (a + b)², it means you're multiplying (a + b) by itself:
(a + b)² = (a + b) (a + b)
To expand this, we use the distributive property (which says you multiply each term in the first bracket by each term in the second bracket):
Multiply the first term in the first bracket (a) by both terms in the second bracket:
a a = a²
a b = ab
Multiply the second term in the first bracket (b) by both terms in the second bracket:
b a = ab
b b = b²
Now, add up all the results from the multiplication:
a² + ab + ab + b²
Since ab + ab is the same as 2ab, we can simplify it to:
a² + 2ab + b²
So, (a + b)² = a² + 2ab + b².
This is known as a basic polynomial identity, and it shows that when you square a binomial (a two-term expression like a + b), you get three terms: the square of the first term (a²), twice the product of the two terms (2ab), and the square of the second term (b²).
Therefore, the correct answer is C (a² + 2ab + b²)