Help with factoring this one:

x^9+1

(x^3+1) (x^3-x^3+1)

Is this correct?

you can factor the x^3 + 1 again into

(x+1)(x^2 - x + 1), your other factor was wrong, should have been x^6 - x^3 + 1

so
x^9 + 1 = (x+1)(x^2 - x + 1)(x^6 - x^3 + 1)

THANKS!

Yes, your answer is correct. The factoring of the expression x^9 + 1 as (x^3 + 1)(x^6 - x^3 + 1) is accurate.

To verify this factorization, you can use the product of powers rule and the difference of cubes formula.

First, consider (x^3 + 1) as factor 1.

Using the sum of cubes formula, we can factor x^3 + 1 as (x + 1)(x^2 - x + 1).

Now, focus on the remaining expression (x^6 - x^3 + 1) as factor 2.

This expression cannot be directly factored as a difference of cubes or any other known pattern, but we can still check if this factor can be multiplied by (x^3 + 1) to get the original polynomial x^9 + 1.

To determine this, we can multiply (x^3 + 1) and (x^6 - x^3 + 1) and verify if it simplifies back to x^9 + 1:

(x^3 + 1)(x^6 - x^3 + 1) = x^9 + x^6 - x^6 - x^3 + x^3 + 1 = x^9 + 1.

Since the result is equal to the original expression, the factorization is correct.

Therefore, the factored form of x^9 + 1 is (x^3 + 1)(x^6 - x^3 + 1).