Is there a greatest common factor? What other factoring technique could be used according to the number of terms?
4(x^2+16)
Practice makes perfect
We want to completely factor the given expression. To do so, we will first identify and factor out the greatest common factor. The greatest common factor (GCF) of an expression is a common factor of the terms in the expression. It is the common factor with the greatest coefficient and the greatest exponent. The GCF of the given expression is 4.
Both terms are squares, but they cannot be written as difference. This means that we cannot use the difference of two squares. Since neither term is a cube, we cannot use the sum or the difference of two cubes. Therefore, the given polynomial cannot be further factored.
4(x^2+16)
Extra
Factoring Techniques
Different factoring techniques can be applied according to the number of terms the polynomial has.
Number of Terms
Factoring Technique
Any number
Greatest Common Factor (GCF)
Two
Difference of Two Squares, Sum of Two Cubes, or Difference of Two Cubes
