This week I learned to Factor a polynomial by removing the greatest common factor. To factor a polynomial by using the greatest common factor I learned to do the following steps…

Ex. 8x²y² + 20xy³

Step #1: Find the greatest common factor between the two terms.

4xy²

Step #2: Factor the greatest common factor from the term by dividing it out of the two terms.

8x²y² ÷ 4xy²

= 2x

20xy² ÷ 4xy²

= 5y

Step #3: Put the two quotients together in brackets and keep the greatest common factor outside the brackets.

4xy²(2x + 5y)

The greatest common factor 4xy² has now been removed from each term, and the polynomial has been factored.