Using factor on symbolic expression but not always factorizing

I'm trying to show both versions of a symbolic equation, one unfactorized and one factorized.

This example works as expected:

>> syms s
>> factor(s^2+2*s+1)
 
ans =
 
[ s + 1, s + 1]
 

However, it does nothing in this case:

>> factor(s^2+4*s+1)
 
ans =
 
s^2 + 4*s + 1
 

Expected:

[ s + 0.2679, s + 3.7321 ]

For reference:

>> roots([1 4 1])

ans =

   -3.7321
   -0.2679

Is it because the roots are not whole numbers? I.e. Does it only factorize if the factors are simple? Or am I doing something wrong?

[Bill Tubbs]

Thanks! I should have read the documentation!

Answer 1

[madhan ravi]

 factor(s^2+4*s+1,s, 'FactorMode', 'real')