What is the expression inside the parentheses after factoring out the GCF from 3x^2 - 12x - 36?

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Multiple Choice

What is the expression inside the parentheses after factoring out the GCF from 3x^2 - 12x - 36?

Explanation:
Pull out the greatest common factor. Each term has a factor of 3, so factor 3 from the whole expression: 3(x^2 − 4x − 12). This inner expression is what sits inside the parentheses after factoring out the GCF. Checking by distributing back confirms 3(x^2 − 4x − 12) = 3x^2 − 12x − 36, so the inner expression is correct. Note that 3 is the largest common factor (6 wouldn’t work since 3x^2 isn’t divisible by 6). The inner trinomial can be factored further if needed, but for this question the expression inside is x^2 − 4x − 12.

Pull out the greatest common factor. Each term has a factor of 3, so factor 3 from the whole expression: 3(x^2 − 4x − 12). This inner expression is what sits inside the parentheses after factoring out the GCF. Checking by distributing back confirms 3(x^2 − 4x − 12) = 3x^2 − 12x − 36, so the inner expression is correct. Note that 3 is the largest common factor (6 wouldn’t work since 3x^2 isn’t divisible by 6). The inner trinomial can be factored further if needed, but for this question the expression inside is x^2 − 4x − 12.

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