How do you factor $x^2-4y^2$ ?

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Answer 1 · 2018-03-05T00:12:03

The factored expression is $(x-2y)(x+2y)$ .

You can write the expression as a difference of squares, then use a special factoring form:

$color(red)a^2-color(blue)b^2=(color(red)a-color(blue)b)(color(red)a+color(blue)b)$

Here's the actual problem:

$color(white)=x^2-4y^2$

$=x^2-2^2y^2$

$=(x)^2-(2y)^2$

$=(x-2y)(x+2y)$

That's as factored as it gets.

How do you factor x^2-4y^2x^2-4y^2?