Factor
12^2 - 3
Factor out 3.
3(4^2 - 1)
Factor
12^2-3
2 answers
Be sure to check your work:
12^2-3 = 144-3 = 141
3(4^2-1) = 3(16-1) = 3(15) = 45
what happened?
12^2-3 = (3*4)^2-3 = 3*4*3*4 - 3
You can see that the 3 can't just be factored from 12^2, because that would factor out 3^2.
So, what you get is
3(4*3*4-1) = 3(48-1)
12^2-3 = 144-3 = 141
3(4^2-1) = 3(16-1) = 3(15) = 45
what happened?
12^2-3 = (3*4)^2-3 = 3*4*3*4 - 3
You can see that the 3 can't just be factored from 12^2, because that would factor out 3^2.
So, what you get is
3(4*3*4-1) = 3(48-1)