SOLUTION: polynomials- find the greatest common factor of the polynomial 15x+45x^2

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Question 75208: polynomials- find the greatest common factor of the polynomial
15x+45x^2
Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
To find the greatest common factor between 2 numbers, we need to look for a number that can go into both 15 and 45. These numbers are:
1,3,5,15
Since 15 is the greatest of the list, it is the GCF. But we aren't done yet. There 's still an x term to be factored. The same idea applies as well. What factors do x and x%5E2 share. They share a common term of x (they both have a term of x in them). So the GCF is:

15x

I can then factor out the GCF to get
15x%281%2B3x%29
which is perfectly valid, since I can distribute to get
15x%2B45x%5E2