Factorization Summary

• If all the terms of the polynomial have a common factor, we take out the common factor and factorise .
• If all the terms of the polynomial have a common factor, we take out the common factor and factorise .

• If the polynomial can be expressed as the difference of two squares,

we use a² - b² = (a + b) (a - b)

• Quadratic trinomials of the form x² + ax + b can be factorised using the identity. (x + a) (x + b) = x² + x(a + b) + ab.

• When the trinomial is ax² + bx + c and , we follow the following steps. We find two factors whose sum is b, and whose product is a x c.

We split the middle term using these two factors and factorise by grouping the terms.

• If the polynomial can be expressed as the sum or difference of two cubes we use the following identities.

a³ + b³ = (a + b) (a² - ab + b²)

a³ - b³ = (a - b) (a² + ab + b²)