Math Doubts

Factoring expressions

Definition

The process of writing a math expression as a product of its factors is called the factorization of an expression.

What is the Factorization of expression?

The expressions in mathematics represent unknown quantities and it is possible to write some of them as a product of their factors. There is a procedure to do it and it is called the factorization of expressions. It is also written as factorisation of expressions in some countries.

Now, let’s know what the factorization of an expression is from some understandable examples.

Example

$x+3$ and $x-3$ are two mathematical expressions. Now, let’s multiply them to get their product.

$\implies$ $(x+3)(x-3)$ $\,=\,$ $x^2-9$

The product of $x+3$ and $x-3$ is equal to $x^2-9$. So, the expression $x^2-9$ can be factored as a product of expressions $x+3$ and $x-3$.

$\,\,\,\therefore\,\,\,\,\,\,$ $x^2-9$ $\,=\,$ $(x+3)(x-3)$

The expressions $x+3$ and $x-3$ are called the factors of $x^2-9$ because they both can divide the expression $x^2-9$ completely.

In the above example, the factors of expression $x^2-9$ are given and it is very easy for us to factorise the expression. Otherwise, it is difficult for us to guess its factors. So, you must learn how to write an expression as a product of its factors.

A systematic procedure is there in mathematics to write an expression as a product of two or more factors and it is called the factorization of expressions. There are six different methods for factoring expressions. Now, let’s learn each method to know how to factorize an expression mathematically.

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