FACTORISATION STEP BY STEP

Factoring by Grouping

We can sometimes factor a polynomial by making creative use of

the Distributive Property

Example 1:

Factor 2xy – 6xz + 3y – 9z.

You can get a clue from the coefficients: we have a 2 and a –6, and we also
have a 3 and a –9. There is a proportional relationship here .

Setp 1 : Take the common Factor 2x out of the first two terms:

2xy – 6xz + 3y – 9z = 2x(y – 3z) + 3y – 9z

Step 2: Then take the common factor 3 out of the second two terms.

2xy – 6xz + 3y – 9z = 2x(y – 3z) + 3(y – 3z)

Step 3 :Since the same quantity y – 3z appears twice, we can use the
distributive property to write this more simply:

2xy – 6xz + 3y – 9z = (2x + 3)(y – 3z)

Example 2:

Factor x2 + xy + 3x + 3y.

Step 1: Group the terms as follows:

x2 + xy + 3x + 3y = (x2 + 3x) + (xy + 3y)

= x (x+3) + y( x+3)

= (x + y)(x + 3)

Example 3

Factor xy − 4y − 3x + 12

Solution: Group the first two and the last two terms together, and factor
out the common factor from each grouping:

(xy − 4y) + (−3x + 12) = y(x − 4) + 3(−x + 4)

 This time there is no common factor. Try again, this time
factoring a −3 from the last grouping. This works!

xy − 4y − 3x + 12 = y(x − 4) − 3(x − 4)

= (x − 4)(y − 3)

EXERCISES. Factor each of the following by grouping:

1. xy + 7x + 4y + 28 2. 2xy + 5x + 10y + 25

= x( ) + 4( )

=( )( )

3. x3 + 3x2 + 9x + 27 4. x3 − 3x2 + 9x – 27

5. ax + bx + ay + by 6. ax + ac + bx + bc

7. ax − bx + ay − by 8. ax − ac + bx − bc

9. ax − bx − ay + by 10. ax − ac − bx + bc

= x (a − b) − y ( a − b) = ___( ) − ___( )

=( )( ) =( )( )

11. xy − 5x − 2y + 10 12. x2y + xy2 − 5x − 5y

= = xy( ) − 5( )

= =

13. x3 − x2 − 9x + 9 14. x3 − 5x2 − 4x + 20

= x2 ( ) − 9( ) = x2 ( ) − 4( )

=( )( ) =

=( )( )( ) =
15. x3 + 7x2 − x − 7 16. x3 − 5x2 + 25x − 125

= x2 ( ) − 1( )

17. x3 + 5x2 − 25x − 125 18. x3 − 5x2 − 25x + 125

19. x3 − 4x2 + 9x − 36 20. x3 + 4x2 − 9x − 36

Factoring x2 + bx + c

Factor n2 + 8n + 15.

This can be done (factored) by finding two numbers whose sum is 8 and
product is 15: use 3 and 5. So we get:

n2 + 8n + 15

= n2 + 3n + 5n + 15 . . . . now take common factor out in pairs

= n(n + 3) + 5(n + 3) . . . .use the Distributive Property

= (n + 5)(n + 3)

Factor x2 + 6x – 16.

Here we need to find two numbers with opposite signs which have –16 as a
product and 6 as a sum.

The factor pairs for –16 are:

–16 = (–16)(1) ; –16 + 1 = –15

–16 = (–8)(2) ; –8 + 2 = –6

–16 = (–4)(4) ; –4 + 4 = 0

–16 = (–2)(8) ; –2 + 8 = 6

–16 = (–1)(16); –1 + 16 = 15

–2 and 8 work. So we can factor the polynomial as

x2 + 6x – 16 = (x – 2)(x + 8).

Example:

Given: 5x2 + 11x + 2

Find the product ac: (5)(2) = 10

Think of two factors of 10 that add up

to 11: 1 and 10

Write the 11x as the sum of 1x and

10x: 5x2 + 1x + 10x + 2

Group the two pairs of terms: (5x2 + 1x) + (10x + 2)

Remove common factors from each

group: x(5x + 1) + 2(5x + 1)

Notice that the two quantities in

parentheses are now identical. That
means we can factor out a common
factor of (5x + 1): (5x + 1)(x + 2)

Example:

Given: 4x2 + 7x – 15

Find the product ac: (4)(15) = 60

Think of two factors of 60 that add

up to 7: 5 and 12

Write the 7x as the sum of 5x and

12x: 4x2 – 5x + 12x – 15

Group the two pairs of terms: (4x2 – 5x) + (12x – 15)

Remove common factors from each

group: x(4x – 5) + 3(4x – 5)
Notice that the two quantities in
parentheses are now identical. That
means we can factor out a common
factor of (4x  5): (4x – 5)(x + 3)

EXERCISES. Factor completely, using the sum and difference of cubes

formulas.

1. x3 − 8 2. x3 − 125

= x3 − 23 [x=first; 2=second] =( )3 − ( )3

=( − )(x2 + 2x + 22) = ( − )( + + )

=( )( ) =( )( )

3. x3 − 64 4 x3 − 27

=( )3 − ( )3 =( )3 − ( )3

=( )( ) =( )( )

5. x3 + 8 6. x3 + 64

= x3 + 23 [x=first; 2=second] =( )3 + ( )3

=( + )(x2 − + ) =( + )( − + )

=( )( ) =( )( )

. x3 + 125 Q x3 + 27

=( )3 + ( )3 =( )3 + ( )3

=( )( ) =( )( )
Q 8x3 − 125 Q 27x3 − 8y3

= (2x)3 − 53 [2x=first; 5=second] =( )3 − ( )3

=( − )[(2x)2 + (2x)(5) + 52] =( − )[ + + ]

=( )( ) =( )( )

Q 64x3 + 125 Q 27x3 + 8y3

=( )3 + ( )3 =( )3 + ( )3

=( )[ ] =( )[ ]

=( )( ) =( )( )

Q. 8x3 − 27y3 Q. 125y3 − 8x3

39. 8x3 + 1 40. 125y 3 − 1

In the next exercises, don't forget to factor the common factor first.

Q. 16x4 − 54x Q. 3x3 − 24y3

= 2x(8x3 − 27) =

= 2x[( 2x )3 − ( 3 )3 ] =

= 2x(___ − ___)(____+____+____) =

Q. 5x4 + 40x Q. 10x5y + 80x2y4

Q. 3x5y5 − 81x2y2 Q 16x2y2 + 250x2y5