Question

Factor 26r3s + 52r5 – 39r2s4. What is the resulting expression?

Answer 1

1. find the GCF of 26, 52, and 39
2. find the highest exponent of r common to all terms (the first term has r^3, the second term has r^5, the last term has r^2, so you can factor out r^2
3. repeat this process with the s
4. combine the results from 1, 2, and 3 into one term. this is the term you can factor out from the expression
5. divide the expression by the term from part 4
6. write the factored form as (result from part 4)(result from part 5)

this is a little confusing so I'd be happy to clarify any steps if you're having trouble