Problem of the Week

Updated at Jun 18, 2018 8:31 AM

For this week we've brought you this algebra problem.

How would you find the factors of \(15{x}^{2}-20x+5\)?

Here are the steps:



\[15{x}^{2}-20x+5\]

1
Find the Greatest Common Factor (GCF).
GCF = \(5\)

2
Factor out the GCF. (Write the GCF first. Then, in parentheses, divide each term by the GCF.)
\[5(\frac{15{x}^{2}}{5}+\frac{-20x}{5}+\frac{5}{5})\]

3
Simplify each term in parentheses.
\[5(3{x}^{2}-4x+1)\]

4
Split the second term in \(3{x}^{2}-4x+1\) into two terms.
\[5(3{x}^{2}-x-3x+1)\]

5
Factor out common terms in the first two terms, then in the last two terms.
\[5(x(3x-1)-(3x-1))\]

6
Factor out the common term \(3x-1\).
\[5(3x-1)(x-1)\]

Done
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