#mathematics #polynomials #precalculus
Calculate \(299\times 301\).
You can brute force the answer to this problem by using a calculator, but we have a sweeter way. We can apply the difference of two squares identity.
At first we may think about using the long multiplication method, but it wastes time and is, of course, boring. Notice that \(299=300-1\) and \(301=300+1\), so
\(299\times 301=(300-1)(300+1)=300^2-1^2=89999\).