Question

factor 16b^2-40b+25

Answer 1

\((5-4b)^2\)

Answer 2

Can you show how you got that?

Answer 3

I achieved this by inspection:

\(25\) can only be factored in one way: \(5^2\). Therefore, its factorization must have those two numbers.

\(16\) can be factored in many ways. I first tried \(2\times8\) but got nowhere. I then tried \(4^2\) and saw the pattern.

I finally put everything together and came up with that expression.