Question

Venita is factoring the expression 32 a b minus 8 b. She determines the GCF and writes the factored expression as 8 b (4 a minus 0). Which best describes Venita’s error?

Answer 1

Venita's error is that she factored the expression incorrectly by mistakenly factoring out a 0 instead of a 1.

Step-by-step explanation:

Venita's error is that she incorrectly factored the expression 32ab - 8b as 8b(4a - 0). The GCF (Greatest Common Factor) of 32ab and 8b is 8b, but Venita should have factored out the common factor from both terms, resulting in 8b(4a - 1).

By mistakenly factoring out a 0 instead of a 1, Venita's factored expression is incorrect. It is important to pay attention to the coefficients when factoring an expression.

Therefore, Venita's error is that she factored out the GCF correctly, but made a mistake with the coefficient of the second term, resulting in an incorrect factored expression.