
Think of factoring as the opposite of the "multiplying through parentheses" step above - sometimes, an expression can be rendered more simply as two terms multiplied by each other, rather than as one unified expression. Factoring is a technique by which some variable expressions, including polynomials, can be simplified. However, (x + 2)/x does not cancel to 2/1 = 2. For instance, in the expression (x(x + 2))/x, the "x" cancels from both the numerator and denominator, leaving (x + 2)/1 = (x + 2). Note that you can't cancel just any term - you can only cancel multiplicative factors that appear both in the numerator and denominator.Similarly, in the expression (2x 2 + 4x + 6)/2, since every term is divisible by 2, we can write the expression as (2(x 2 + 2x + 3))/2 and thus simplify to x 2 + 2x + 3.

Removing these factors from the equation leaves (x + 1)/(5 - x).

Fractions that have only numbers (and no variables) in both the numerator and denominator can be simplified in several ways. Simplify numerical fractions by dividing or "canceling out" factors.

Note - if there are multiple parentheses nested inside one another, solve the innermost terms first, than the second-innermost, and so on.If we simply went from left to right, we might instead add 3 and 4 first, then divide by 2, giving the incorrect answer of 7/2. The second parenthetical term simplifies to 5 because, owing to the order of operations, we divide 4/2 as our first act inside the parentheses.In this expression, we would solve the terms in parentheses, 5 + 2 and 3 + 4/2, first. As an example, let's try to simplify the expression 2x + 4(5 + 2) + 3 2 - (3 + 4/2).For instance, within parentheses, you should multiply before you add, subtract, etc. Note that, however, within each pair of parentheses, the order of operations still applies. Regardless of the operations being performed within them, be sure to tackle the terms in parentheses as your first act when you attempt to simplify an expression. In math, parentheses indicate that the terms inside should be calculated separately from the surrounding expression. Start by solving all of the terms in parentheses.
