Factor the difference of squares.

w2−36

The difference of squares can be factored as follows:

w^2 - 36 = (w - 6)(w + 6)

The given expression is w^2 - 36.

To factor the difference of squares, we need to express the expression as the product of two binomials, where the first term and the last term are perfect squares and the middle term has a negative sign.

In this case, w^2 is a perfect square of w, and 36 is a perfect square of 6. So, we can write:

w^2 - 36 = (w - 6)(w + 6)

Therefore, the factored form of the expression is (w - 6)(w + 6).

To factor the difference of squares, we look for an expression in the form of "a^2 - b^2". In this case, we have w^2 - 36.

Step 1: Identify the values of a^2 and b^2.
In our expression, a^2 = w^2 and b^2 = 36.

Step 2: Take the square root of both a^2 and b^2.
The square root of a^2 = square root of w^2 = w.
The square root of b^2 = square root of 36 = 6.

Step 3: Write the factorization using a and b.
The difference of squares can be factored as (a + b)(a - b).

Therefore, the difference of squares w^2 - 36 can be factored as (w + 6)(w - 6).