Algebra Examples

$\frac{1}{2} x^{2} - \frac{1}{2}$

Step 1

Factor $\frac{1}{2}$ out of each term.

$\frac{1}{2} (x^{2} - 1)$

Step 2

Rewrite $1$ as $1^{2}$ .

$\frac{1}{2} \cdot (x^{2} - 1^{2})$

Step 3

Factor.

Tap for more steps...

Step 3.1

Since both terms are perfect squares, factor using the difference of squares formula, $a^{2} - b^{2} = (a + b) (a - b)$ where $a = x$ and $b = 1$ .

$\frac{1}{2} \cdot ((x + 1) (x - 1))$

Step 3.2

Remove unnecessary parentheses.

$\frac{1}{2} \cdot (x + 1) (x - 1)$