Question 701316
<br><font face="Tahoma">{{{12-4a-3b-ab}}} given<br>

{{{(12-4a)-(3b-ab)}}} group the terms to see if it will work<br>

{{{4*(3-a)-3b*(3-a)}}} factor 4 out of the first group, and 3b out of the second<br>

And you can see that we do have a common term of (3-a).<br>

{{{(4-3b)(3-a)}}} final factored form<br>

Factoring by grouping can be fairly tricky.<br>

But this is a good example of how it works.<br>

It is not the most common of factoring methods, but it is good to be aware of.<br>

I hope this helps!  Keep practicing!  :)<br>

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