Taking out a common factorTwo terms
Name: Date:
Take out the greatest common factor. Fill in every number.
1120x + 168
213x + 78
3105x + 15
414x + 2
510x + 22
630x + 15
77x + 42
8264x + 192
924x + 2
1056x + 21
Common factor of two terms worksheets
Does every term share a factor? On a two-term expression like 12x + 18 that is the first thing to try. These free printable worksheets take out the greatest common factor.
If they get stuck
Common factor of two terms
The answer key prints on a separate page.
What's on this sheet
Taking out a common factor is the step students skip on the way to everything else, and on two terms it is at its clearest. Look at 12x + 18: both numbers are even, both divide by 3, so 6 comes out in front and 6(2x + 3) is left. Do it first and every later step is smaller; skip it and the numbers stay big.
Why this sheet works
The word carrying the difficulty is GREATEST. 12x + 18 shares 2, and 3, and 6 — only 6 finishes the job. A child who stops at 2 writes 2(6x + 9), which still has a 3 hiding inside. So the walks list what divides each coefficient and take the biggest they all share, rather than announcing a number.
How this one works
One question from a sheet like this one, worked a step at a time — with a sentence saying what just happened and why.
Common factor of two terms, step by step