SOLUTION: where do you find the common factor in an expression consisting of various terms?

Question 298048: where do you find the common factor in an expression consisting of various terms?
Answer by nyc_function(2741) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Do you mean something like 3x^2 + x?
What is a common factor?
A Common Factor is a number that divides two or more numbers or terms exactly (without a remainder).
In the sample above, the common factor is x because x divides EXACTLY into 3x^2 without a remainder.
After finding the common factor, the next thing to do is to divide every term by that common factor.
Factor 3x^2 + x.
3x^2 divided by x = 3x
x divided by x = 1
Final answer to my sample question: x(3x + 1)

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