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⋅3 |
Fraction | 64 | 2⋅32⋅2 |
Polynomial | x2+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: x3−4x⇔x(x2−4) 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).