Question: Factorise:
x2 − x(a + 2b) + 2ab
Solution:
We have:
$x^{2}-x(a+2 b)+2 a b=x^{2}-a x-2 b x+2 a b$
$=x^{2}-2 b x-a x+2 a b$
$=\left(x^{2}-2 b x\right)-(a x-2 a b)$
$=x(x-2 b)-a(x-2 b)$
$=(x-2 b)(x-a)$
$\therefore x^{2}-x(a+2 b)+2 a b=(x-2 b)(x-a)$