How do you find the GCF of #12xy, 16x^2y#?

1 Answer
Jun 27, 2017

See a solution process below:

Explanation:

To find the GCF of the two terms first, factor each term separately:

#12xy = color(red)(2) xx color(red)(2) xx 3 xx color(red)(x) xx color(red)(y)#

#16x^2y = color(red)(2) xx color(red)(2) xx 2 xx 2 xx color(red)(x) xx x xx color(red)(y)#

Now, take ALL the common factors from each term and combine them to find the GCF:

#color(red)(2) xx color(red)(2) xx color(red)(x) xx color(red)(y) = 4xy#