Question

How do you find the GCF of `14b, 56b^2`?

Answer 1

See a solution process below:

Explanation:

First, factor the two terms as:

`14b = 2 xx 7 xx b`

`56b^2 = 2 xx 2 xx 2 xx 7 xx b xx b`

Next, identify the common terms in each factorization:

`14b = color(red)(2) xx color(red)(7) xx color(red)(b)`

`56b^2 = color(red)(2) xx 2 xx 2 xx color(red)(7) xx color(red)(b) xx b`

The Greatest Common Factor is therefore:

`"GCF" = color(red)(2) xx color(red)(7) xx color(red)(b) = 14b`