Question

Please help me with this problem trying to help my son to understand the problem.Factor.10x^5−16x^4+4x^2 Enter your answer in the box.

Answer 1

`2x^2(5x^3-8x^2+2)`

1) The first thing we need to know when we are about to factor in is to examine all the coefficients and the variables.

Note that we need to find the GCD of these coefficients, 10, 16, 4. The GCD of 10, 16, 4 is 2. On the other hand, the least degree term is x² so we can state that the GCD of this expression is 2x²

2) So now, we can rewrite that polynomial as a product like this:

`\begin{gathered} 10x^5-16x^4+4x^2 \\ 2x^2\mleft(5x^3-8x^2+2\mright) \\ \end{gathered}`

Thus, this is the factored form, therefore the answer