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Find the common factors of the given terms in each \( 12 x^{2} y, 18 x y^{2} \)

Ask by Mills Maxwell. in India
Jan 09,2025

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Answer

The greatest common factor of \( 12x^{2}y \) and \( 18xy^{2} \) is \( 6xy \).

Solution

To find the **common factors** of the given terms \( 12x^{2}y \) and \( 18xy^{2} \), we'll follow these steps: ### Step 1: Factor Each Term First, factor both coefficients and variables: 1. **Factor the Coefficients:** - \( 12 = 2^2 \times 3 \) - \( 18 = 2 \times 3^2 \) 2. **Factor the Variables:** - \( 12x^{2}y = 2^2 \times 3 \times x^2 \times y \) - \( 18xy^{2} = 2 \times 3^2 \times x \times y^2 \) ### Step 2: Identify Common Factors For each prime factor and variable, take the minimum exponent present in both factorizations: 1. **Numerical Factors:** - **2:** Minimum exponent is \( 2^1 = 2 \) - **3:** Minimum exponent is \( 3^1 = 3 \) 2. **Variable Factors:** - **\( x \):** Minimum exponent is \( x^1 \) - **\( y \):** Minimum exponent is \( y^1 \) ### Step 3: Multiply the Common Factors Combine the common factors identified: \[ \text{GCF} = 2 \times 3 \times x \times y = 6xy \] ### Conclusion The **greatest common factor (GCF)** of \( 12x^{2}y \) and \( 18xy^{2} \) is: \[ \boxed{6xy} \]

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To find the common factors of \( 12 x^{2} y \) and \( 18 x y^{2} \), we start with the coefficients. The factors of 12 are \( 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12 \) and the factors of 18 are \( 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18 \). The greatest common factor (GCF) of the coefficients, 12 and 18, is 6. Now, for the variable parts, for \( x \) we take the lowest exponent present, which is \( x \), and for \( y \) we also take the lowest exponent, which is \( y \). Therefore, the common factors are \( 6xy \). So the complete common factor of the given terms is \( 6xy \). Common mistakes can happen if you overlook the coefficients or forget to apply the lowest powers to the variables. Double-checking each component separately can help avoid those tricky slips!

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