Why is it necessary to learn how to factor if you can just use the quadratic formula to solve quadratic equations?

Last year, a state university received 3,560 applications from boys. of those applications, 35 percent were from boys who lived in other states. part a)how many applications did the university receive from boys who lived in other states? part b)applications to the university from boys represented 40percent of all applications. how many applications did the university receive in all? i don't how to do part b so me and plz tell how you got your answer

Interpret the following expression (5y^2-7)^3/(2y)^2

Im so bad at fractions they are not my best math thing to work on