How do you factor x^3-1? HELP
= (x+1)(x-1)(x+1)
Also to tidy that up, as there are two lots of (x+1) you could write:
(x-1)(x+1)^2
This is the difference of cubes and factors to
(x-1)(x^2 + x + 1)
To factor the expression x^3-1, we can use a special formula called the difference of cubes formula. This formula states that a^3 - b^3 can be factored as (a - b)(a^2 + ab + b^2).
In this case, we have x^3 - 1. We can see that a^3 is x^3 and b^3 is 1. So, we can rewrite the expression as (x - 1)(x^2 + x + 1).
Therefore, the factored form of x^3 - 1 is (x - 1)(x^2 + x + 1).
To solve this type of problem, you can remember the difference of cubes formula or look it up whenever you encounter expressions in the form a^3 - b^3.