Introductory Algebra

Eleventh Edition, Global Edition

Chapter 6
Factoring and
Applications

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Section 6.1 Factors; The Greatest
Common Factor

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Objectives
1. Find the greatest common factor of a list of
numbers.
2. Find the greatest common factor of a list of
variable terms.
3. Factor out the greatest common factor.
4. Factor by grouping.

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Find the Greatest Common Factor of
a List of Numbers
The greatest common factor (GCF) of a list of integers is
the largest common factor of those integers. This means 6
is the greatest common factor of 18 and 24, since it is the
largest of their common factors.

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Example 1: Find the Greatest Common
Factor of a List of Numbers (1 of 3)

Find the greatest common factor for each list of numbers.

(a) 36, 60
First write each number in prime factored form.
36  2  2  3  3 60  2  2  3  5
Use each prime the least number of times it appears in all
the factored forms. Here, the factored forms share two 2’s
and one 3. Thus,
GCF  2 · 2 · 3  12.

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Example 1: Find the Greatest Common
Factor of a List of Numbers (2 of 3)

Find the greatest common factor for each list of numbers.

(b) 18, 90, 126

Find the prime factored form of each number.
18  2 · 3 · 3 90  2 · 3 · 3 · 5 126  2 · 3 · 3 · 7
All factored forms share one 2 and two 3’s. Thus,
GCF  2 · 3 · 3  18.

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Example 1: Find the Greatest Common
Factor of a List of Numbers (3 of 3)

Find the greatest common factor for each list of numbers.

(c) 48, 61, 72

48  2 · 2 · 2 · 2 · 3 61  1· 61 72  2 · 2 · 2 · 3 · 3
There are no primes common to all three numbers, so the
GCF is 1.
GCF = 1

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Example 2: Find the Greatest Common
Factor for Variable Terms (1 of 2)

Note
The exponent on a variable in the GCF is the least
exponent that appears on that variable in all the terms.

Find the greatest common factor for each list of terms.

(a) 12 x 2 ,30x 5
12 x 2  2  2  3  x 2  30 x 5  1  2  3  5  x 5
First, 6 is the GCF of 12 and −30. The least exponent on x is 2
( x 5  x 2  x 3 ) .Thus, 2
GCF  6 x
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Example 2: Find the Greatest Common
Factor for Variable Terms (2 of 2)
Find the greatest common factor for each list of terms.

(b)  x 5 y 2 , x 4 y 3 , x 8 y 6 , x 7
 x5 y 2 ,  x4 y3 ,  x8 y 6 ,  x7
There is no y in the last term. So, y will not appear in the G CF.
There is an x in each term, and 4 is the least exponent on x.
Thus,
GCF  x 4
Note In a list of negative terms, sometimes a negative
common factor is preferable (even though it is not the
greatest common factor). In (b) above, we might prefer
 x 4as the common factor.
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Find the Greatest Common Factor
for Variable Terms
Finding the Greatest Common Factor (GCF)
Step 1 Factor. Write each number in prime factored form.
Step 2 List common factors. List each prime number or
each variable that is a factor of every term in the
list. (If a prime does not appear in one of the
prime factored forms, it cannot appear in the
greatest common factor.)
Step 3 Choose least exponents. Use as exponents on
the common prime factors the least exponents
from the prime factored forms.
Step 4 Multiply. Multiply the primes from Step 3. If there
are no primes left after Step 3, the greatest
common factor is 1.
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Factor Out the Greatest Common
Factor

CAUTION
The polynomial 3m + 12 is not in factored form when
written as the sum
3  m  3  4. Not in factored form

The terms are factored, but the polynomial is not.

The factored form of 3m  12 is the product
3(m  4). In factored form

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Example 3: Factor Out the Greatest
Common Factor (1 of 2)

Factor out the greatest common factor.

(a) 24 x 5  40 x 3  8 x 3 (3 x 2 )  8 x 3 (5) GCF  8x 3

 8 x 3 (3 x 2  5)

Note If the terms inside the parentheses still have a common

factor, then you did not factor out the greatest common factor
in the previous step.

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Example 3: Factor Out the Greatest
Common Factor (2 of 2)

Factor out the greatest common factor.

(b) 4 x 6 y 4  20 x 4 y 3  x 2 y 2  x 2 y 2 (4 x 4 y 2 )  x 2 y 2 (20 x 2 y )  x 2 y 2 (1)

 x 2 y 2 (4 x 4 y 2  20 x 2 y  1)

CAUTION
Be sure to include the 1. Check that the factored form
can be multiplied out to give the original polynomial.

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Example 4: Factor Out the Greatest
Common Factor

Factor  3 x 5  15 x 3  6 x 2 .

 3 x 5  15 x 3  6 x 2  3 x 2 ( x 3  5 x  2) GCF  3x 2

Note
Whenever we factor a polynomial in which the coefficient
of the first term is negative, we will factor out the
negative common factor, even if it is just −1.

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Example 5: Factor Out the Greatest
Common Factor

Factor out the greatest common factor.

w 2 ( z 4  3)  5( z 4  3)

Here, the binomial z 4 3 is the GCF.

w2 ( z 4  3)  5( z 4  3)  ( z  3)( w  5)
4 2

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Example 6: Factor By Grouping

Factor by grouping.

6 x  4 xy – 10 y – 15
If we leave the terms grouped as they are, we could try
factoring out the GCF from each pair of terms.

6 x  4 xy – 10 y – 15  2 x(3  2 y ) – 5(2 y  3)
This works, showing a common binomial of 2y + 3 in each
term.
6 x  4 xy – 10 y – 15  2 x(2 y  3) – 5(2 y  3)
 (2 y  3)(2 x – 5)
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Factor By Grouping (1 of 2)

CAUTION
Be careful with signs when grouping. It is wise to
check the factoring in the second step, before
continuing.

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Factor By Grouping (2 of 2)

Factoring a Polynomial with Four Terms by Grouping

Step 1 Group terms. Collect the terms into two groups
so that each group has a common factor.
Step 2 Factor within groups. Factor out the greatest
common factor from each group.
Step 3 Factor the entire polynomial. Factor a common
binomial factor from the results of Step 2.
Step 4 If necessary, rearrange terms. If Step 2 does
not result in a common binomial factor, try a
different grouping.
Always check the factored form by multiplying.

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Example 7: Factor By Grouping (1 of 2)

Factor by grouping.

10a 2 – 12b  15a – 8ab

Working as before, we get
10a 2 – 12b  15a – 8ab  2(5a 2 – 6b)  a (15 – 8b)
This does not work. These two factored terms have no
binomial in common. So, we will group another way.

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Example 7: Factor By Grouping (2 of 2)

Factor by grouping.
10a 2 – 12b  15a – 8ab  10a 2 – 8ab  15a – 12b
 2a(5a – 4b)  3(5a – 4b)

This works, showing a common binomial of 5a − 4b in

each term. Thus,
10a 2 – 12b  15a – 8ab  (5a – 4b)(2a  3)

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