How do I factor this polynomial equation?
4x^5 - 8x^3 + 4x = 0

Question

How do I factor this polynomial equation? 
4x^5 - 8x^3 + 4x = 0

matt101 · Answer

The first thing to do is factor out the x:

$$x(4x^4 - 8x^2 + 4)= 0$$
Now what you have in the brackets is a "quartic" equation (highest power is 4). The nice thing about a quartic equation is that you can apply the quadratic formula to it to find the roots. However, the factors you end up with will use x^2 instead of x, meaning you may be able to further factor these factors (e.g. if you have a difference of squares).

Do you think you can finish the question now?

anonymous · Answer

Thank you for helping me! 
So when I use the quadratic formula, a=4 b= -8 and c= 4?

matt101 · Answer

Absolutely right! Just make sure your factors use x^2 instead of x, and factor those new factors if possible.

anonymous · Answer

So would it be x(4x^2 - 4) ?