Factorisation — Chapter Summary

When a polynomial is expressed as

When a polynomial is expressed as the product of two or more expressions, each expression is called a factor. Writing an expression in the form of ter

When each term has a common

When each term has a common factor, divide each term by it and keep the common factor outside the bracket. For example, 6a^2-3ax = 3a(2a-x).

An expression with an even number

An expression with an even number of terms can be arranged in groups so that each group has a common factor. After factorising each group, the common

For a trinomial of the form

For a trinomial of the form ax^2+bx+c, split the middle term into two parts whose sum is b and whose product is a×c. Then factorise by grouping.

A trinomial ax^2+bx+c is factorisable only

A trinomial ax^2+bx+c is factorisable only if b^2-4ac is a perfect square.