How do you factor #3x^2-12#?

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Answer 1 · 2018-03-21T04:09:48

#3(x-2)(x+2)#

First, we find any like terms that we can factor out of the entire equation. In this case, we can factor out a three.

This gives us:
#3(x^2-4)#

We can simplify this even further using The Difference of Squares

#x^2-4 = 0#
#x^2 = 4#
#sqrt(x^2) = sqrt(4)#
#x = 4, -4#

Therefore the factors of #x^2-4# are #(x-2)# and #(x+2)#

Putting this all together, we get:

#3(x-2)(x+2)#.