Simplify (y^2-16)/(y+4)

$\frac{y^{2} - 16}{y + 4}$

Step 1

Simplify the numerator.

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

$\frac{y^{2} - 4^{2}}{y + 4}$

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

$\frac{(y + 4) (y - 4)}{y + 4}$

Step 2

Cancel the common factor of $y + 4$ .

Cancel the common factor.

$\frac{(y + 4) (y - 4)}{y + 4}$

Divide $y - 4$ by $1$ .

$y - 4$