how can i do this?

Question

Factor the polynomial completely.

8x^2−18

Answer 1

It's VERY unclear why either of these two answers received a thumb down vote.

They are correct, and competent, and voting them down is UNFAIR.  K. Seidel, WyzAnt tutor

Answer 2

Seems like you will benefit from a quick session of polynomial factorization! Anyway, for your question, factor out 2 and you get 2(4x^2 - 9).  Now 4x^2 can be written as (2x)^2 and 9 as 3^2. That is difference of 2 squares and we know in that case we simply add them and subtract them and multiply so:

2(2x + 3)(2x - 3). 

 

I can help you with more insights. Contact me 813 786 4425. I am with WyzAnt as a tutor!

Answer 3

You can automatically see you can pull 2 out of the polynomial like so:

 

2(4x^2 - 9)

 

Then you can factor the polynomial again:

 

2(2x+3)(2x-3)