To factor the expression \( 12p + 27 \), we first find the greatest common factor (GCF) of the two terms.
The GCF of 12 and 27 is 3. We can factor out 3 from the expression:
\[ 12p + 27 = 3(4p + 9) \]
Thus, the factored form of \( 12p + 27 \) is
\[ 3(4p + 9) \]
where 3 is the whole number greater than 1.