Rewrite $ y^{4}-4 $ as:
$$ y^{4}-4 = (y^{2})^2 - (2)^2 $$Now we can apply the difference of squares formula.
$$ I^2 - II^2 = (I - II)(I + II) $$After putting $ I = y^{2} $ and $ II = 2 $ , we have:
$$ y^{4}-4 = (y^{2})^2 - (2)^2 = ( y^{2}-2 ) ( y^{2}+2 ) $$