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

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Answer 1 · 2016-01-02T19:01:30

3(x-2)(x+2)

when factorising follow these steps
(1) is there a common factor?
(2) is it a trinomial ?
(3) is it a difference of 2 squares ?

in this case there is a common factor of 3 (1)

$3x^2 - 12 = 3(x^2 -4)$
inside the bracket is a difference of 2 squares (3)
$x^2 -4 = (x-2)(x+2)$
so $3x^2 - 12 = 3(x-2)(x+2)$

How do you factor 3x^2 - 123x^2 - 12?