factor

[aaa]

Can you please factor the below step by step.
x^3 - x


Thank you

[tmmyc]

x^3-x

Factor out x:
x(x^2-1)

Use the factoring rule for x^2-1 (this should be memorized for the GMAT):
x(x+1)(x-1)

You may benefit from reordering like so:
(x-1)x(x+1)

You can see that the original quantity could represent the product of three consecutive integers.

[StaceyKoprince]

Nice, tmmyc. Just to make sure that formatting doesn't make things confusing:

x[(x^2)-1]

And do make sure you have your three quadratic identities memorized! Very important for the test.