The result of factoring – writing a numeric or algebraic expression as the product of its factors – is called the factored form.

	Example	Factored Form
Natural Number	$6$	$2\cdot 3$
Fraction	$\frac{4}{6}$	$\frac{2\cdot 2}{2\cdot 3}$
Polynomial	$x^2+3x+2$	$(x+2)(x+1)$

The factored form has many uses, such as reducing fractions and finding the roots of a polynomial function, among others. Take care, however, of cases such as this: Although the original expression has been rewritten as a product of two factors, it has not been fully factored; therefore, it is a factored form of the expression, but the factored form of the expression would be written as $x(x+2)(x-2).$