Q. Factor the expression completely.−40x2−5x3Answer:
Identify GCF: Identify the greatest common factor (GCF) of the terms in the expression −40x2−5x3.The GCF of −40x2 and −5x3 is −5x2, since −5 is the largest number that divides both −40 and −5, and x2 is the highest power of x that is a factor of both terms.
Factor out GCF: Factor out the GCF from each term in the expression.−40x2−5x3=−5x2(8+x)We divide each term by −5x2 to find the remaining factors.
Check for further factoring: Check the factored expression for any additional factoring possibilities.The expression inside the parentheses, 8+x, cannot be factored further since it is a sum of two terms that do not have a common factor other than 1.