To factor the expression \( 45x - 18y + 36 \) completely, follow these steps:
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Identify the Greatest Common Factor (GCF): Look for the GCF of the coefficients in the expression. The coefficients are \( 45 \), \( -18 \), and \( 36 \).
- The factors of \( 45 \) are \( 1, 3, 5, 9, 15, 45 \).
- The factors of \( -18 \) are \( 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18 \).
- The factors of \( 36 \) are \( 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 36 \).
- The GCF of these three numbers is \( 9 \).
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Factor out the GCF: Divide each term in the expression by the GCF \( 9 \):
- \( 45x \div 9 = 5x \)
- \( -18y \div 9 = -2y \)
- \( 36 \div 9 = 4 \)
Therefore, we can factor out \( 9 \) from the expression: \[ 45x - 18y + 36 = 9(5x - 2y + 4) \]
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Check if the Remaining Expression Can Be Factored: Now, we need to check if \( 5x - 2y + 4 \) can be factored further. To check if this trinomial can be factored, look for two numbers that multiply to \( 5 \times 4 = 20 \) and add to \( -2 \).
However, there are no such integers, hence \( 5x - 2y + 4 \) does not factor further.
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Final Factored Form: The completely factored form of the expression is: \[ 9(5x - 2y + 4) \]
Thus, the answer is \( 9(5x - 2y + 4) \).