Learn more about Symbolic Math Toolbox

factor - Factorization

Syntax

factor(X)

Description

factor(X) can take a positive integer, an array of symbolic expressions, or an array of symbolic integers as an argument. If N is a positive integer, factor(N) returns the prime factorization of N.

If S is a matrix of polynomials or integers, factor(S) factors each element. If any element of an integer array has more than 16 digits, you must use sym to create that element, for example, sym('N').

Examples

Factorize the two-variable expression:

syms x y;
factor(x^3-y^3)

The result is:

ans =
(x - y)*(x^2 + x*y + y^2)

Factorize the expressions that form a vector:

syms a b;
factor([a^2 - b^2, a^3 + b^3])

The result is:

ans =
[ (a - b)*(a + b), (a + b)*(a^2 - a*b + b^2)]

Factorize the symbolic number:

factor(sym('12345678901234567890'))

The result is:

ans =
2*3^2*5*101*3541*3607*3803*27961

See Also

collect, expand, horner, simplify, simple

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