Polynomial Box Lab
Drag the sliders to build (px + a)(qx + b) and watch the area model fill in every partial product. Then take the challenge: choose the side lengths that build a target trinomial.
Explore the area model
Move the sliders. Each cell of the box is one partial product; adding the four cells gives the full expansion.
Challenge: build the target
A target trinomial is dealt. Set p, a, q, b so your box expands to exactly the target, then check.