Final answer:
To factor the expression 4x + 6, we find the greatest common factor which is 2. The expression can then be written as the product 2(2x + 3).
Step-by-step explanation:
To factor the expression 4x + 6 using the greatest common factor (GCF), you first need to determine what the largest number is that evenly divides both coefficients, 4 and 6. In this case, the largest common factor is 2. You then divide each term by the GCF and use those results to write the original expression as a product.
Accordingly, dividing 4x by 2 gives you 2x, and dividing 6 by 2 gives you 3. You can now write the factored expression as:
2(2x + 3).
This demonstrates that when you use the greatest common factor to simplify an expression, you are effectively breaking it down into a product of the GCF and a simpler expression, which is useful in many areas of algebra.