Factoring by Greatest Common Factor (GCF)

Front

What is the Greatest Common Factor (GCF)?

Back

The GCF is the largest positive integer that divides each of the given integers without leaving a remainder.

Front

How do you find the GCF of two or more terms?

Back

To find the GCF, list the factors of each term, identify the common factors, and choose the largest one.

Front

What is the first step in factoring by GCF?

Back

Identify the GCF of all the terms in the expression.

Front

Factor the expression: 12x^2 + 8x.

Back

4x(3x + 2).

Front

What is the GCF of 18 and 24?

Back

The GCF of 18 and 24 is 6.

Front

How do you factor an expression using GCF?

Back

Divide each term of the expression by the GCF and write the expression as the GCF multiplied by the resulting polynomial.

Front

Factor the expression: 15a^3 - 10a^2 + 5a.

Back

5a(3a^2 - 2a + 1).

Front

What is the GCF of the coefficients in the expression 8n^3 + 2n^2?

Back

The GCF of the coefficients 8 and 2 is 2.

Front

How can you check if your factoring by GCF is correct?

Back

You can check by distributing the GCF back into the factored expression to see if you obtain the original expression.

Front

Factor the expression: 20x^4 - 5x^3 + 15x^2.

Back

5x^2(4x^2 - x + 3).