Question

How do you factor completely: `42x^3y^4 - 63x^2y`?

Answer 1

`42x^3y^4-63x^2y = 21x^2y(2xy^3-3)`

Explanation:

The highest common factor of the terms is `21x^2y`, so separate that out as a factor to get:

`42x^3y^4-63x^2y = 21x^2y(2xy^3-3)`

The remaining factor `(2xy^3-3)` does not factorise further.