Module: Factoring and Solving

Equations

Factoring: Common Factor and Difference of Squares

(Section 6.2)
A polynomial or factor is prime if it is only divisible by ±1 and itself. An expression is
factored completely if it is expressed as a product of its prime factors.

Factoring is the opposite of expanding!

Factoring by Inspection: Finding the Greatest Common Factor

Example: Find the greatest common factor and factor completely. Check! Expand your
answer using the distributive property – this will return the original question.

a) 12𝑥𝑥 + 6𝑥𝑥 2 b) 6𝑥𝑥 3 − 20𝑥𝑥 + 4𝑥𝑥 2

c) 3𝑎𝑎𝑏𝑏 2 − 6𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 + 12𝑎𝑎𝑏𝑏 3 d) −4𝑠𝑠 3 𝑡𝑡 − 20𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 − 18𝑡𝑡 2

Factoring and Solving Equations

e) 15𝑥𝑥 2 𝑦𝑦 3 − 3𝑥𝑥 4 𝑦𝑦 2 − 10𝑥𝑥𝑦𝑦 2

f) 8𝑦𝑦 3 (3𝑥𝑥 + 4)7 + 24𝑦𝑦(3𝑥𝑥 + 4)5

1 7 3
g) 4
𝑥𝑥 2 𝑦𝑦 + 4 𝑥𝑥 2 𝑦𝑦 3 − 4 𝑦𝑦 2

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Factoring and Solving Equations

Factoring the Difference of Two Squares

Special Algebraic Product: 𝑥𝑥 2 − 𝑦𝑦 2 = (𝑥𝑥 + 𝑦𝑦)(𝑥𝑥 − 𝑦𝑦)

Example: Factor completely.

a) 𝑥𝑥 2 − 25 b) 9𝑥𝑥 2 − 1

c) 81𝑦𝑦 2 − 4 d) 36𝑠𝑠 2 − 121𝑡𝑡 2

e) (𝑥𝑥 + 1)2 − 4

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Factoring and Solving Equations

Don’t forget about common factors!!

f) 5𝑎𝑎2 − 125

g) 2𝑏𝑏 2 − 72

h) 16𝑥𝑥 − 4𝑥𝑥 3

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Factoring and Solving Equations

Factoring Trinomials (Section 6.3)

Recall: (𝑥𝑥 + 𝑎𝑎)(𝑥𝑥 + 𝑏𝑏) = 𝑥𝑥 2 + (𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏)𝑥𝑥 + 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎

Expand the following: (𝑥𝑥 + 3)(𝑥𝑥 + 4)

Example: Factor completely.

a) 𝑥𝑥 2 + 5𝑥𝑥 + 6

b) 𝑥𝑥 2 − 4𝑥𝑥 − 45

c) 𝑥𝑥 2 − 𝑥𝑥 − 20

d) 𝑥𝑥 2 − 5𝑥𝑥 − 24

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Factoring and Solving Equations

e) 𝑥𝑥 2 − 6𝑥𝑥 + 8

f) 𝑥𝑥 2 + 8𝑥𝑥 − 9

Trickier Trinomials – With Prime Numbers in First and Third Term

Example: Factor completely.
a) 3𝑥𝑥 2 + 5𝑥𝑥 + 2

b) 2𝑥𝑥 2 + 11𝑥𝑥 + 5

c) 5𝑥𝑥 2 − 8𝑥𝑥 + 3

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Factoring and Solving Equations

d) 7𝑥𝑥 2 − 12𝑥𝑥 + 5

Trickier Trinomials – Without Prime Numbers in First and Third Term

Example: Factor completely.
a) 4𝑥𝑥 2 + 4𝑥𝑥 − 3

b) 25𝑥𝑥 2 + 45𝑥𝑥 − 10

c) 6𝑥𝑥 2 − 33𝑥𝑥 − 18

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Factoring and Solving Equations

d) 4𝑥𝑥 + 12𝑥𝑥 2 − 5

e) 8𝑥𝑥 2 − 14𝑥𝑥 − 9

Simplifying Fractions – Rational Expressions (Section 6.5)

Reminders:

The value of a fraction is unchanged if both the numerator and the denominator are
multiplied or divided by the same number, provided that this number is not zero.

Cancellation is the process of dividing both the numerator and the denominator by the
common factor.

A fraction is said to be in its simplest form if the numerator and denominator have no
common factors other than ±1.

You cannot remove just any expression that appears in both the numerator and
denominator. If a term is the same in both numerator and denominator, it cannot be
cancelled. Only factors that are in both the numerator and denominator can be cancelled.

If there is more than one term in the numerator or denominator, try factoring.

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Factoring and Solving Equations

Example: Simplify the following.

𝑥𝑥 3 −2𝑥𝑥 2 3+𝑥𝑥(4+𝑥𝑥)
a) b)
𝑥𝑥 2 −4 3+𝑥𝑥

3𝑥𝑥 2 −13𝑥𝑥−10
c)
5+4𝑥𝑥−𝑥𝑥 2

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Factoring and Solving Equations

Multiplying, Dividing and Simplifying Fractions (Section 6.6)

Example: Simplify.

2𝑥𝑥 2 +3𝑥𝑥−2 5𝑥𝑥+10 2𝑥𝑥 2 −4𝑥𝑥−6 𝑥𝑥 3 −4𝑥𝑥 2

a) 2
÷ b) ∙
2+3𝑥𝑥−2𝑥𝑥 4𝑥𝑥+2 𝑥𝑥 2 −3𝑥𝑥 4𝑥𝑥 2 −4𝑥𝑥−8

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Factoring and Solving Equations

𝑥𝑥 2 −𝑥𝑥 𝑥𝑥 2 −2𝑥𝑥+1
c) ÷
3𝑥𝑥+9 18−2𝑥𝑥 2

Note: It’s okay to multiply out the final form of the numerator and denominator, but it is
preferable to leave the numerator and denominator in factored form. The factored form
makes it easier to identify important features of a function, such as zeros or vertical
asymptotes.

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