The given expression is
(2x - 16)/(2x + 8)
The first step is to find te common factor of the numerator and denominator. The common factor is 2. Therefore, we would factorize the numerator and denominator. It becomes
2(x - 8)/2(x + 4)
The 2 cancels out. The simplified expression becomes
(x - 8)/(x + 4)