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How do I factor an expression using the GCF?

1 Answer

10 votes

Answer:

use the distributive property

Explanation:

Use the distributive property to rewrite the expression with the GCF factored out.

Example:

ab +ac +ad . . . . has terms with a common factor of 'a'

When the common factor is factored out, the distributive property tells you the equivalent is ...

= a(b +c +d)

If 'a' is the greatest common factor, then b, c, d are mutually prime and no more factors can be removed to outside the parentheses.

User Konrad Eisele
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