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ADVANCED FACTORING

 I NTRODUCTION

W e can now factor lots of quadratic binomials (like 4x 2  9) and tri-

nomials (like n 2 + 10n + 21). Sorry to tell you this, but we’re not
done with factoring just yet. In this chapter, we learn how to factor
expressions with the exponent 4 in them, expressions containing four
terms, and expressions containing GCFs you might never have seen
before.

 F ACTORING Q UARTICS

EXAMPLE 1: Factor each quartic (4th degree) polynomial:

A. c 4  256

= (c 2 + 16)(c 2  16) (difference of squares)

= (c 2 + 16)(c + 4)(c  4) (difference of squares again)

Note: c 2 + 16 cannot be factored any further.

B. 9a 4  37a 2 + 4

= (9a 2  1)(a 2  4) (factor trinomial)

Now we notice that each factor is quadratic and is the

difference of two squares. Therefore, each factor can
be factored further to get a final answer consisting of
four factors

(3a + 1)(3a  1)(a + 2)(a  2)

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Homework
1. Factor each quartic polynomial:

a. x 4  1 b. x 4  x 2  6
c. n 4  10n 2 + 9 d. a 4  81
e. 36w 4  25w 2 + 4 f. 9x 4  34x 2 + 25
g. c 4  16 h. x 4  8x 2  9
i. x 4  3x 2  10 j. g 4  256
k. 36u 4  85u 2 + 9 l. y 4 + 81

 T HE GCF R EVISITED

EXAMPLE 2: Factor: (a + b) 2 + 4(a + b)

Solution: There are two terms in this expression: (a + b) 2 and

4(a + b). Notice that each of these two terms contains the same
factor, namely a + b. In other words, the GCF of the two terms is
a + b. Factoring out this GCF gives us the final factored form, a
single term consisting of two factors:

(a + b)(a + b + 4)

The thing not to do in this kind of problem is to distribute the

original expression; if you do, you’ll be going in the wrong
direction. Check it out:

(a + b) 2 + 4(a + b) = a 2 + 2ab + b 2 + 4a + 4b
Do you really want to try to factor that last expression?

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So, when you see an expression, like a + b in this problem,
occurring multiple times in an expression, it’s usually best to
leave it intact. Also notice that we have converted a 2-termed
expression into 1 term -- we have factored.

Alternate Method: Let’s try a substitution method. We might be

able to better see the essence of the problem if we replace a + b
with a simpler symbol -- for example, x will represent a + b. Then
the original expression

(a + b) 2 + 4(a + b)
is transformed into

x 2 + 4x
The GCF in this form is clearly x, so we pull it out in front:
x(x + 4)
Now substitute in the reverse direction, to get a + b back in the
problem:
(a + b)(a + b + 4) (the same answer as before)

EXAMPLE 3: Factor: x 2 (u  w)  100(u  w)

Solution: The two given terms have a GCF of u  w. Factoring

this GCF out gives

(u  w)(x 2  100)
But we’re not done yet. The second factor is a difference of
squares. Factoring that part gives us our final factorization:

(u  w)(x + 10)(x  10)

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EXAMPLE 4: Factor: w 2 (x + z)  4w(x + z) + 3(x + z)

Solution: Let’s use substitution to make this expression appear

a little less intimidating; we’ll convert every occurrence of x + z to
the symbol A:

w 2 A 4wA + 3A
Pulling out the GCF of A, we get

A(w 2  4w + 3)
Factor the trinomial in the usual way:
A(w  3)(w  1)
Last, replace the A with its original definition of x + z:

(x + z)(w  3)(w  1)

Homework
2. Factor each expression:

a. (x + y) 2 + 7(x + y) b. (a  b) 2  c(a  b)

c. x 2 (c + d) + 5(c + d) d. n 2 (a  b)  9(a  b)

e. x 2 (a + 4) + 5x(a + 4) + 6(a + 4) f. y 2 (m + n) + 7y(m + n)

g. 2x 2 (a + b) + 3x(a + b)  5(a + b) h. 4x 2 (w + z)  9(w + z)

i. (u  w) 2  9(u  w) j. n 2 (a + b)  9n(a + b)

k. (t + r)y 2  100(t + r) l. 3ax 2  20ax  7a

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 G ROUPING WITH F OUR T ERMS

EXAMPLE 5: Factor: a 2 + ac + ab + bc

Solution: Group the first two terms and the last two terms:

(a2  ac)  (ab  bc)

Now factor each pair of grouped terms separately (using the GCF
in each pair) :
a(a + c) + b(a + c) (notice that the GCF is a + c)

Even though we’ve grouped and factored, we can’t be done

because there are still two terms, and we need one term in the
final answer to a factoring question. So we continue -- using our
knowledge of the previous section -- and factor out the GCF,
which is a + c:

(a + c)(a + b)

By the commutative property of multiplication (xy = yx), the final

answer could also be written (a + b)(a + c). Also, to check our
answer, just double distribute the answer and you should get the
original expression.

EXAMPLE 6: Factor: x 3  7x 2  9x + 63

Solution: Group the first two terms and the last two terms:

( x 3  7x 2 )  ( 9x  63)
Now factor the GCF in each pair of grouped terms. The first GCF
is obvious: x 2 . Choosing the GCF in the second grouping is a
little trickier -- should we choose 9 or 9? Ultimately, it’s a trial-
and-error process. Watch what happens if we choose 9 for the
GCF:

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x 2 (x  7)  9(x  7) (check the signs carefully)

We now see two terms whose GCF is x  7. Pull it to the front:

(x  7)(x 2  9)
All this, and we’re still not done. The second factor is the
difference of two squares -- now we’re done:

(x  7)(x + 3)(x  3)

EXAMPLE 7: Factor: ab + cd + ad + bc

Solution: Group the first two terms and the last two terms
(after all, this technique worked quite well in the previous two
examples):
(ab  cd)  (ad  bc)
We’re stuck; there’s no way to factor either pair of terms (the
GCF = 1 in each case), so let’s swap the two middle terms of the
original problem and again group in pairs:
(ab  ad)  (cd  bc)
Pull out the GCF from each set of parentheses:
a(b + d) + c(d + b)
Do we have a common factor in these two terms? Well, does
b + d = d + b? Since addition is commutative, of course they are
equal. So the GCF is b + d, and when we pull it out in front,
we’re done:

(b + d)(a + c)

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EXAMPLE 8: Factor: 2ax  bx  2ay + by

Solution: Group in pairs, as usual:

(2ax  bx) + (2ay + by)

Pull out the GCF in each grouping:

x(2a  b) + y(2a + b)
Problem: There’s no common factor; however, the factors 2a  b
and 2a + b are opposites of each other, and that gives us a clue.
Let’s go back to our first step and factor out y rather than y:
x(2a  b)  y(2a  b) (distribute to make sure we’re right)

Now we see a good GCF, so we pull it out in front, and we’re

done:

(2a  b)(x  y) [Check by multiplying out]

Homework
3. Factor each expression:
a. xw + xz + wy + yz b. a 2 + ac + ab + bc
c. x 3  4x 2 + 3x  12 d. n 3  n 2  5n + 5
e. x 3 + x 2  9x  9 f. ac  bd + bc  ad
g. xw + yz  xz  wy h. 2ac  2ad + bc  bd
i. 6xw  yz + 3xz  2wy j. hj  j 2  hk + jk
k. ax + ay  bx  by l. x 3  2x 2  25x + 50
m. xw + 2wy  xz  2yz n. a 3  a 2  5a + 5
o. 4tw  2tx + 2w 2  wx p. 6x 3 + 2x 2  9x  3
q. Not factorable r. 6a 3  15a 2 + 10a  25

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 M ORE G ROUPING AND S UBSTITUTION P ROBLEMS

EXAMPLE 9: Factor: (w + z) 2  a 2

Solution: After some practice, you might not need a

substitution for this kind of problem, but we’ll use one for this
problem. Let n = w + z. The starting problem then becomes

n2  a2
This is just a standard difference of squares:
(n + a)(n  a)
Now substitute in the other direction:

(w + z + a)(w + z  a)

EXAMPLE 10: Factor: x 2 + 6x + 9  y 2

Solution: Grouping in pairs has worked quite well so far, so

let’s try it again:

(x 2 + 6x) + (9  y 2 )

We see that the first pair of terms has a nice GCF of x, and the
second is the difference of squares:
x(x + 6) + (3 + y)(3  y)
Good try, but there’s no common factor in these two terms. In
fact, no grouping into pairs will result in a common factor -- a
dead end. Let’s go back to the original problem and regroup so
that the first three terms are together:

(x 2 + 6x + 9)  y 2

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The first set of three terms is a perfect square trinomial, and
factors into the square of a binomial:

(x + 3) 2  y 2
leaving us with another difference of squares (just like the
previous example), which factors to

(x + 3 + y)(x + 3  y)

Homework
4. Factor each expression:

a. (x + y) 2  z 2 b. (a  b) 2  c 2
c. x 2 + 4x + 4  y 2 d. n 2  6n + 9  Q 2
e. (u + w) 2  T 2 f. y 2 + 10y + 25  x 2
g. a 2 + 2ab + b 2  c 2 h. w 2  2wy + y 2  49
i. 4x 2 + 4x + 1  t 2 j. 9x 2  12x + 4  y 2

 F ACTORING C UBICS U SING THE GCF

EXAMPLE 11: Factor each cubic (3rd degree) polynomial:

A. 5q 3 + 10q 2 + 5q

This is not as bad as it looks, if we remember to start with

the GCF:

5q 3 + 10q 2 + 5q (the polynomial to factor)

= 5q(q 2 + 2q + 1) (factor out 5q, the GCF)

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= 5q(q + 1)(q + 1) (factor the trinomial)

= 5q(q + 1) 2 (write it more simply)

B. 4x 3  x

= x(4x 2  1) (factor out x, the GCF)

= x(2x + 1)(2x  1) (difference of squares)

Homework
5. Factor each cubic polynomial:

a. x 3  x b. 2n 3 + 6n 2 + 4n
c. 10a 3  5a 2  5a d. 7y 3 + 70y 2 + 175y
e. 36w 3  9w f. 24z 3  20z 2  24z

Review
Problems
6. Factor each expression:

a. 10ax 4  160a b. Z 2 (P  Q)  144(P  Q)

c. 50x 3  75x 2  2x + 3 d. 12ac  10bd + 8bc  15ad
e. a 2  2ab + b 2  c 2 f. x 2 + 2xy + y 2  144
g. x 4  34x 2 + 225 h. x 4  8x 2  9
i. x 3  7x 2 + 9x  63 j. n 3 + 3n 2  16n  48

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k. (a + b) 2  5(a + b) + 6 l. (x  y) 2 + 7(x  y) + 6
m. (a  b) 2 + 6(a  b)  16 n. hm  hn + km  kn

Solutions
1. a. (x 2 + 1)(x + 1)(x  1) b. (x 2 + 2)(x 2  3)
c. (n + 1)(n  1)(n + 3)(n  3) d. (a 2 + 9)(a + 3)(a  3)
e. (2w + 1)(2w  1)(3w + 2)(3w  2) f. (x + 1)(x  1)(3x + 5)(3x  5)
g. (c 2 + 4)(c + 2)(c  2) h. (x 2 + 1)(x + 3)(x  3)
i. (x 2 + 2)(x 2  5) j. (g 2 + 16)(g +4)(g  4)
k. (2u + 3)(2u  3)(3u + 1)(3u  1) l. Not factorable

2. a. (x + y)(x + y + 7) b. (a  b)(a  b  c)
c. (c + d)(x 2 + 5) d. (a  b)(n + 3)(n  3)
e. (a + 4)(x + 3)(x + 2) f. y(m + n)(y + 7)
g. (a + b)(2x + 5)(x  1) h. (w + z)(2x + 3)(2x  3)
i. (u  w)(u  w  9) j. n(a + b)(n  9)
k. (t + r)(y + 10)(y  10) l. a(3x + 1)(x  7)

3. a. (x + y)(w + z) b. (a + b)(a + c) c. (x 2 + 3)(x  4)

d. (n 2  5)(n  1) e. (x + 1)(x + 3)(x  3) f. (a + b)(c  d)
g. (x  y)(w  z) h. (2a + b)(c  d) i. (3x  y)(2w + z)
j. (h  j)(j  k) k. (a  b)(x + y) l. (x  2)(x + 5)(x  5)
m. (x + 2y)(w  z) n. (a 2  5)(a  1) o. (2t + w)(2w  x)
p. (2x 2  3)(3x + 1) q. Not factorable r. (3a 2 + 5)(2a  5)

4. a. (x + y + z)(x + y  z) b. (a  b + c)(a  b  c)
c. (x + 2 + y)(x + 2  y) d. (n  3 + Q)(n  3  Q)
e. (u + w + T)(u + w  T) f. (y + 5 + x)(y + 5  x)
g. (a + b + c)(a + b  c) h. (w  y + 7)(w  y  7)

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i. (2x + 1 + t) (2x + 1  t) j. (3x  2 + y)(3x  2  y)

5. a. x(x + 1)(x  1) b. 2n(n + 1)(n + 2)

c. 5a(2a + 1)(a  1) d. 7y(y + 5) 2
e. 9w(2w + 1)(2w  1) f. 4z(3z + 2)(2z  3)

6. a. 10a(x 2 + 4)(x + 2)(x  2) b. (P  Q)(Z + 12)(Z  12)

c. (2x  3)(5x + 1)(5x  1) d. (3a + 2b)(4c  5d)
e. (a  b + c)(a  b  c) f. (x + y + 12)(x + y  12)
g. (x + 5)(x  5)(x + 3)(x  3) h. (x 2 + 1)(x + 3)(x  3)
i. (x 2 + 9)(x  7) j. (n + 4)(n  4)(n + 3)
k. (a + b  3)(a + b  2) l. (x  y + 6)(x  y + 1)
m. (a  b + 8)(a  b  2) n. (m  n)(h + k)

“A college degree is not a

sign that one is a finished
product, but an indication a
person is prepared for life.”
Reverend Edward A. Malloy, Monk's Reflections

Advanced Factoring