How do you find the greatest common factor (GCF) of #2x^2 - 40x#?

1 Answer
Apr 24, 2018

The greatest common factor is #2x# .
So, to factor #2x^2-40x#, the answer would be #2x(x-20)#.

Explanation:

The common factors of 2 are 1 and 2.
1 x 2 =2
2 x 1= 2

The common factors of 40 are 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 20, & 40.
1 x 40 = 40
2 x 20 = 40
4 x 10 = 40
5 x 8 = 40
8 x 5 = 40
10 x 4 =40
20 x 2 = 40
40 x 1 = 40

Since 2 and 40 are both divisible by 2, 2 is the greatest common factor.

I hope this helps.