Question

How do you find the GCF of `12xy, 16x^2y`?

Answer 1

See a solution process below:

Explanation:

To find the GCF of the two terms first, factor each term separately:

`12xy = color(red)(2) xx color(red)(2) xx 3 xx color(red)(x) xx color(red)(y)`

`16x^2y = color(red)(2) xx color(red)(2) xx 2 xx 2 xx color(red)(x) xx x xx color(red)(y)`

Now, take ALL the common factors from each term and combine them to find the GCF:

`color(red)(2) xx color(red)(2) xx color(red)(x) xx color(red)(y) = 4xy`