how do you factor this?

Question

20v⁹w⁸+24v²w²x³

Answer 1

This is 2 terms, so to factor you need to identify the GCF. For the numbers, you would do prime factorization of each one and use the factors that appear in BOTH.

20: 2x2x5

24: 2x2x2x3

The GCF is 2x2=4 (These are the factors that appear in both)

For the variables, you always use the lowest exponent.

The GCF is 4v²w². Factoring this out by dividing both terms by the GCF.

20v⁹w⁸/4v²w²+24v²w²x³/4v²w² Simplify:

4v²w²(5v⁷w⁶+6x³)