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Why is factoring out a gcf helpful

User Vagoberto
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Factoring out a gcf in factoring helps tons when it leaves the first coefficient equal to 1. For example, take
4x^(2) +16x+16 Looks complicated to factor, right? But we see that taking out 4 is possible, which will leave us with an easier equation to factor:
4(x^(2) +4x+4)= 4(x+2)^2

User Ironcladgeek
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6 votes

The short answer: it simplifies your problem. The equation


169x+91=0

seems intimidating at first, but we can use that fact that 169 and 91 have the greatest common factor 13 (169 = 13 x 13 and 91 = 13 x 7) to rewrite this as


image

and from there, it's much less of a headache to work out.

User Warpzit
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