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Course: Algebra (all content) > Unit 10
Lesson 12: Factoring polynomials by taking common factors- Factoring with the distributive property
- Factoring polynomials by taking a common factor
- Taking common factor from binomial
- Taking common factor from trinomial
- Taking common factor: area model
- Factoring polynomials: common binomial factor
- Factor polynomials: common factor
- Factoring by common factor review
- Factoring polynomials: common factor (old)
- Factoring polynomials: common factor (old)
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Factoring polynomials: common factor (old)
An old video where Sal factors 4x⁴y+8x³y as 4x³y(x+2). Created by Sal Khan and Monterey Institute for Technology and Education.
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What is the difference between the LCM , LCD and GCF ?(12 votes)
LCM is the lowest common multiple. This means that you find the smallest number that can be divided by both. For example, the LCM of 4 and 3 is 12, and the LCM of 3 and 6 is 6.
LCD is the lowest common denominator. This is useful when adding or subtracting fractions, as you need a LCD to add/subtract them. You would find it in the same method that you would find the LCM. for example, the LCD of 1/2 and 1/3 would be 6. You would change the denominator of both fractions to six and then alter the numerator by the same factor as the denominator. So, 1/2 would become 3/6 and 1/3 would become 2/6. They can now be added or subtracted.
GCF is the largest number that both numbers can be divided by. There really isn't a simple way to find it, but you just try to find the largest common factor to both numbers. For example, the GCF of 12 and 18 is 6, and the GCF of 24 and 25 is 1.
hope this helps!(23 votes)
I'm trying to understand how to factor polynomials using GCF but I still don't get it. Can you help me understand it?(4 votes)
Andria,
Welcome to Khan Academy.
Try watching the vidoe again. Sometimes it takes a couple times for things to click.
Sal explains it much better than I can.
You are using the Distributive Property. x*(a+b) = xa +xb, but in reverse that is:
xa + xb = a*(a+b).
You want to find the most common factors that make up the x. And this GCF is then placed outside the parenthesis and everything else is left inside the parenthesis.
If you had just numbers such as
2*3*5*5*7 + 2*3*9
you would factor out everything that is common to both. In this case 2*3 and place that outside the parenthesis so you would get
2*3(5*5*7 + 9).
If instead they were letters and numbers such as
x*x*y*5*3 + x*y*y*5*2
You would still find the all of the common factors, in this case x, y and 5 and place them outside the parenthesis
x*y*5(?+?)
and leave everytning else inside
x*y*5(x*3 + y*2)
I hope that helps(16 votes)
I have to do this x4-x2 of course the 4 And 2 are exponents the book said that if possible factor the polynomial completely ?(7 votes)- Just factor out x^2 from each term in the original polynomial, which becomes x^2(x^2-1). Factoring further it becomes x^2(x+1)(x-1). Hope this helps.
Another way to try this one is using substitution, which can be helpful for tricky factoring. An easy way to tackle this problem is to substitute the lowest exponent value of x (in this case x^2) as another variable, such as y. Then, at the very end of the problem, we can put all our y-variables back into x's. So, set x^2 = y. Now the polynomial becomes y^2 - y^1. Factor out a y^1. Now the polynomial becomes: y(y-1). This cannot be factored any further. Now put back the x's, noting that y=x^2. So, the polynomial becomes: x^2(x^2 - 1) This can be factored further: x^2(x+1)(x-1)(9 votes)
Shouldn't the title for this video be "How to factor a quadratic binomial"? Or is quartic a term I don't know? Genuinely asking.(5 votes)
IT is a term but it is rarely used. Another on of the synonyms for 4.(3 votes)
- At2:45, why does he divide by 4x^3 y?(4 votes)
- Because 4 is the greatest common factor between the numbers in each term, the two terms share the variable x and you always have to take the smallest exponent so you get x^3, and the two terms also share the variable y (like before you take the smallest exponent) so you get just y. I hope this makes sense.(3 votes)
So if I've been given y^2(2y - 1), 3(2y - 1) to find the GCF, is the GCF just (y^2 + 3), or do I have to do something more? Can I also get a link to the new version of this if there is one?(3 votes)- Could someone link me to the newest version of this? I can't find it.(3 votes)
i\Are there any more helpful videos?(3 votes)
Well, in the video, it never says that you should subtract the exponents when you find your GCF, because I was told that you should subtract the exponents. I understand everything else, but that part of the video when he uses the GCF. Does anybody know the answer to my question?(3 votes)
This is really not helping me Can someone explain this "What does it mean to factor an expression?" I really need help.(3 votes)
2:45Video transcript
Factor out the
greatest common factor. And the expression they give us
is 4x to the fourth y plus 8x to the third y. When they say to factor out the
greatest common factor they're essentially telling us, find
the greatest common factor of 4x to the fourth and
8x to the third y and factor it out
of this expression. Or kind of undistribute it. And to find that
greatest common factor-- and I always put
it in quotes when we speak in algebraic terms. Because we don't
really know what x and y are, whether
they're positive or negative or whether they're greater
than or less than 1. So it's not always going to be
the greatest absolute number. But it's the greatest
in it contains the most terms of these two expressions,
these two monomials. So if we were to essentially
factor out 4x to the fourth y it would look like this. We would do the
prime factorization of 4, which is just 2 times 2,
times x to the fourth, which is x times x times
x times x, times y. We just expanded
it out as a product of its basic constituents. Now let's do the
same thing for 8-- I'll color code it--
8x to the third. Let me do it in similar colors. So in this situation we
have 8x to the 1/3 y. So the prime factorization
of 8 is 2 times 2 times 2. It's 2 times 2 times 2. Prime, or I should say
the factorization of x to the third, or
the expansion of it, is just times x
times x times x. x multiplied by
itself three times. And then we are multiplying
everything by a y here, times y. So what factors are
common to both of these? And we want to include as
many of them as possible to find this greatest
common factor. So we have two 2's
here, three 2's here. So we only have two 2's
in common in both of them. We have four x's here,
only three x's here. So we only have
three x's in common. Three x's and three x's. And we have a y
here and a y here. So y is common to
both expressions. So the greatest common factor
here is going to be 2 times 2. So it's going to be 2 times 2
times x times x times x times y. Or 4x to the third y. So this is what we
want to factor out. So that means we can write this
thing as-- if we factor out a 4x to the third y,
where essentially we have to divide each of
these by 4x to the third. We're factoring it out. So let me rewrite this. So this is 4x to the fourth
y plus 8x to the third y. And we're going to divide each
of these by 4x to the third y. And hopefully this
makes sense to you. If we were to
multiply this out, we would distribute this 4x to
the third y on each terms. And then it would cancel
with the denominator. You would have the same thing in
the numerator and denominator. And then you would get
this expression over here. So hopefully this
makes sense that these are the exact same expression. But when you write
it this way, then it becomes pretty clear that
this is 4x to the third y. And then you just simplify
each of these expressions. 4 cancels with 4.
x to the fourth divided by x to the third is x. y divided by y is just 1. So you have x plus
8 divided by 4 is 2. x to the third divided
by x to the third is 1. Y divided by y is 1. So x plus 2. Another way to see what's left
over when you factor it out is if you were to take
out the common factor. So we took out this and this. What was left over
in 4x to the fourth y when we took this stuff out? When we undistributed it? Well, the only
thing that was left was this x right over here. Let me do that in another color. The only thing that
was left was this x. So that's why we just
have that x over there. When we factored everything
out of the 8x to the third y we factored all this
other stuff out. We factored out
4x to the third y. We factored it out, so
all we had left was the 2. Now in general, you
don't always have to go through this process. You could have done it this way,
but this really hopefully makes it clear exactly
what we're doing. You could have said,
look, 4x to the fourth y plus 8x to the third y. You could have said,
well let's see, the largest number that's
divisible into both 4 an 8 is 4. So let's factor
out a 4 out here. The largest multiple of x that's
divisible into x to the fourth and x to the third, well that's
going to be x to the third. And you put an x to
the third out here. And you say, well,
the largest thing that's divisible both
into y and y is just y. So you could have done it a
little bit faster in your head. So you factor out
a 4x to the third and you say, OK, if I
take out a 4 out of here, then this becomes a 1. If I take an x to the third
out of x to the fourth I'll just have an x left over. And then if I take a
y out of the y then I just have a 1 there. So this term becomes x. And then if I take
a 4x to the third y out of here, if I
take a 4 out of an 8 I just have a 2 left over. If I take an x to the third
out of x to the third, that's just 1. If I take y out of
y, that's just one. So I'm just left with x plus 2. Eventually you'll just do
this in your head a little bit faster. But hopefully this
makes everything clear.