The Singing Hedgehog Guide to:
Algebra - Factorisation 3
Here is a harder example:
Factorise 6x³y² + 9xy³ - 15x²y4
First find the HCF "numbers then letters"
We can divide 6, 9 and 15 by 3
We can divide x³, x and x² by x
We can divide y², y³, and y4 by y² The HCF is 3xy²
Now divide each term by the HCF

We can always check by mulitiplying back out:
3xy².2x² + 3xy².3y - 3xy².5xy² = 6x³y² + 9xy³ - 15x²y4
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