Mathway | 数学用語集

factoring strategy

1. Factor out the common factors.

2. If there’s an expression with two terms, try to identify it as one of these problem types, if possible:

a. Difference of two squares: $x^{2} - y^{2} = (x + y) (x - y)$ .

b. Sum of two cubes: $x^{3} + y^{3} = (x + y) (x^{2} - x y + y^{2})$ .

c. Difference of two cubes: $x^{3} - y^{3} = (x - y) (x^{2} + x y + y^{2})$ .

3. If an expression has four or more terms, try to factor it by grouping.

4. Factor the expression until each factor is prime, and check your final results by multiplying.