Question

Factor by grouping.

12x+12y+bx+by

Answer 1

`\\ \rm\rightarrowtail 12x+12y+bx+by`

• Take 12 common

`\\ \rm\rightarrowtail 12(x+y)+bx+by`

• Take b common

`\\ \rm\rightarrowtail 12(x+y)+b(x+y)`

`\\ \rm\rightarrowtail (12+b)(x+y)`

Answer 2

Answer: (12+b)(x+y)

Explanation:

The terms 12x and 'bx' share a common factor of 'x'. Therefore, we can group them together. The terms 12y and 'by' also share a term of 'y', so we can group them together too:

`12x+12y+bx+by`

`12x+bx+12y+by`

Factor out an 'x' from the first two terms to get:

`x(12+b)+12y+by`

Now, factor out a 'y' from the last two terms to get:

`x(12+b)+y(12+b)`

Since the quantities inside of the parenthesis are the exact same, we can also factor out the entire term (12+b) to get:

`(12+b)[x+y]`