Factorising is an essential skill in algebra, and it involves breaking down an algebraic expression into a product of simpler expressions. In other words, we are looking for common factors that can be pulled out of the terms in an expression.

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For example, consider the following expression: 6x + 12

Both 6x and 12 are multiples of 6, so we can factor out 6:
6(x + 2)

By using the factorised form of the expression, we can check our answer by distributing the 6 back in:
6(x + 2) = 6x + 1

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Another example is: 3a2 - 6a

Both terms have a factor of 3 and a factor of a so that we can factor out 3a:
3a(a - 2)

Again, we can check our answer by distributing the 3a back in:
3a(a - 2) = 3a2 - 6a

Now let us consider the special case of factorising quadratic expressions. These expressions have a squared term (usually x2), an x-term, and a constant term. For example:
x2 + 5x + 6

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