Upon completing this section you should be able to: Note that in this definition it is implied that the value of the expression is not changed - only its form. Factors can be made up of terms and terms can contain factors, but factored form must conform to the definition above.įactoring is a process of changing an expression from a sum or difference of terms to a product of factors. Note in these examples that we must always regard the entire expression. Factors occur in an indicated product.Īn expression is in factored form only if the entire expression is an indicated product. Terms occur in an indicated sum or difference. You should remember that terms are added or subtracted and factors are multiplied.
In earlier chapters the distinction between terms and factors has been stressed. In fact, the process of factoring is so important that very little of algebra beyond this point can be accomplished without understanding it. The process of factoring is essential to the simplification of many algebraic expressions and is a useful tool in solving higher degree equations.
