You can factor a quadratic expression to make it easier to work with. Some quadratic expressions can be made better by finding a greatest common factor (GCF). If the terms in the quadratic expression have something in common, then that can be factored out, leaving the expression easier to deal with.
Example 1: Factor the quadratic expression,
![image0.png](https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/167787.image0.png)
Rewrite the expression in decreasing powers of x.
Find the GCF.
Although the expression contains large numbers, each number can be evenly divided by 800.
Factor out the GCF.
Example 2: Factor the quadratic expression:
![image3.png](https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/167790.image3.png)
This more complicated example uses four different variables with powers of 2.
Rewrite the expression in decreasing powers of x.
Only the x appears in a term with a power of one. So, you may choose to write this as a quadratic in x.
Find the GCF.
Factor out the GCF.