Distributive Property and Factoring

Front

What is the Distributive Property?

Back

The Distributive Property states that a(b + c) = ab + ac. It allows you to multiply a number by a sum by distributing the multiplication across the addends.

Front

What does GCF stand for?

Back

GCF stands for Greatest Common Factor, which is the largest number that divides two or more numbers without leaving a remainder.

Front

How do you find the GCF of two numbers?

Back

To find the GCF, list the factors of each number, then identify the largest factor that appears in both lists.

Front

What is factoring in mathematics?

Back

Factoring is the process of breaking down an expression into simpler components, or factors, that when multiplied together give the original expression.

Front

Factor the expression 15x + 30.

Back

15(x + 2).

Front

What is the first step in factoring an expression?

Back

The first step is to identify the GCF of all the terms in the expression.

Front

Factor the expression 8y - 32.

Back

8(y - 4).

Front

What is the relationship between GCF and factoring?

Back

The GCF is often used in factoring to simplify expressions by factoring out the GCF from each term.

Front

Factor the expression 20a + 25b.

Back

5(4a + 5b).

Front

What is a common mistake when factoring?

Back

A common mistake is forgetting to factor out the GCF from all terms, leading to an incomplete factorization.