Question

Find the greatest common factor of the terms in each of the following expression:
3a²b² + 4b²c² + 12a²b²c²

Answer 1

The expression has three monomials: 3a²b², 4b²c² and 12a²b²c².
The numerical coefficients of the given monomials are 3, 4 and 12. The greatest common factor of 3, 4 and 12 is 1.
The common literal appearing in the three monomials is b.
The smallest power of b in the three monomials is 2.
The monomial of common literals with the smallest powers is b².
​Hence, the greatest common factor is b².