To factor the expression \( 24s - 8t - 32u \), we can first look for the greatest common factor (GCF) of the coefficients (24, -8, and -32).
- The factors of 24 are: \( 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 \)
- The factors of -8 are: \( 1, 2, 4, 8 \)
- The factors of -32 are: \( 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 \)
The greatest common factor is \( 8 \).
Now we can factor out \( 8 \) from each term in the expression:
\[ 24s - 8t - 32u = 8(3s - t - 4u) \]
Thus, the expression factored is:
\[ 8(3s - t - 4u) \]
This is a product with a whole number greater than 1 (which is 8).
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