Finding Common Factors in 5x²+10x: Step-by-Step Factoring

Question

We factored the expression

5x2+10x 5x^2+10x into its basic terms:

5xx+25x 5\cdot x\cdot x+2\cdot5\cdot x

What common factor can be found in these terms?

Step-by-Step Solution

First, consider the expression 5x2+10x 5x^2+10x . We want to factor out the greatest common factor of the terms.

Write each term showing the factor x x : 5xx \blue 5\cdot \orange x\cdot x and 25x 2\cdot\blue5\cdot \orange x .

Both terms, 5x2 5x^2 and 10x 10x , contain the factor x x as well as 5 5 . Therefore, 5x 5\cdot x is a common factor.

The greatest common factor is 5x 5\cdot x .

Answer

5x 5\cdot x