Factorise fully 20x^2 - 5

When factorising an expression, you first want to find the highest common factor in each term of the expression. Here, our terms are 20 and 5. The highest common factor here is 5, so we want to take 5 out of the equation first. When we do this, we get 5(4x^2 - 1).
This expression is not yet fully factorised as (4x^2 - 1) can be split into two more brackets because it is a difference of two squares. Both 4 and 1 are square numbers so this can factorise into (2x-1)(2x+1).
Therefore, our final answer is 5(2x-1)(2x+1).

Answered by Maths tutor

8380 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How to find conditional probability


If the two shorter lengths of the triangle have sizes 4cm and 3cm, what is the length of the longest side?


Work out: 3 ½ – 2 ⅓ Give your answer as a improper fraction


A 4 digit number is picked. It's second digit is a prime number, it must be even and it must be greater than 5000. How many possible numbers can be picked?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences