Factor x^2-16

$x^{2} - 16$

Step 1

Rewrite $16$ as $4^{2}$ .

$x^{2} - 4^{2}$

Step 2

Since both terms are perfect squares, factor using the difference of squares formula, $a^{2} - b^{2} = (a + b) (a - b)$ where $a = x$ and $b = 4$ .

$(x + 4) (x - 4)$