factorise

This is the term used for the process that rewrites something as a product of other objects. These objects are called factors.

These factors can be multiplied back to give the original object.

We can use the expression 15x + 20x² as an example.

The highest common factor of this expression is 5x. For instance, 15x = 5x × 3 and 20x² = 5x × 4x.

Therefore, 15x + 20x² factorised is 5x(3 + 4x).

The opposite of factorise is expand.