SOLUTION: I am having a hard time finding the GCF of 8x^2, -4x, and -20. I understand that the GCF of 8, 4 and 20 is 4 but I am not sure what to do with the letter x or the exponent of 2. A

Algebra ->  Polynomials-and-rational-expressions -> SOLUTION: I am having a hard time finding the GCF of 8x^2, -4x, and -20. I understand that the GCF of 8, 4 and 20 is 4 but I am not sure what to do with the letter x or the exponent of 2. A      Log On


   

Question 481600: I am having a hard time finding the GCF of 8x^2, -4x, and -20. I understand that the GCF of 8, 4 and 20 is 4 but I am not sure what to do with the letter x or the exponent of 2. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
You can factor x%5E2 into x*x

You can't factor 'x' any further (in the term -4x). So the GCF between x%5E2 and x is x because they both have an 'x' in common.


However, there are no 'x' terms in -20. So this means that the GCF of the variable terms is not 'x'.


This then means that the GCF of x%5E2, x and -20 is 1 (since x%5E2=1%2Ax%5E2 and x=1%2Ax), but this is a trivial factor. So we can ignore it.


Therefore, the GCF of 8x^2, -4x, and -20 is 4