Decompose the following expression into factors:
21ab−b63a2−14ba2
To solve the problem of decomposing the expression 21ab−b63a2−14ba2 into factors, we will follow these steps:
- Step 1: Identify the Greatest Common Factor (GCF).
- Step 2: Factor out the GCF.
- Step 3: Verify the result by expanding to check that it matches the original expression.
Let's go through each step:
Step 1: Find the GCF of the terms. Examine each term in the expression:
- The three terms are 21ab, −b63a2, and −14ba2.
- The coefficients 21, 163, and 14 share a common factor of 7.
- The variables a and b are present in each term. Each term has at least one a and one b.
- Thus, the GCF is 7ab.
Step 2: Factor out the GCF 7ab from the expression:
21ab=7ab×3
−b63a2=7ab×(−b29a)
−14ba2=7ab×(−2a)
Combining these, the expression factors as:
7ab(3−b29a−2a)
Step 3: Verify by expanding the factored expression:
- Expanding 7ab(3−b29a−2a):
7ab×3=21ab
7ab×(−b29a)=−b63a2
7ab×(−2a)=−14ba2
These match the original expression, confirming the factorization is correct.
Therefore, the solution to the problem is 7ab(3−b29a−2a).
7ab(3−b29a−2a)