The problem
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I don't understand how t becomes the GCF and be pulled out of the term 2tv+at^2. Why not v or a?
Answer provided by our tutors
The GCF is constructed by multiplying all the factors that are common to all the given expressions, exponentiated to the smallest power.
In our example, only the factor t is common to all the given expressions: 2tv and at^2.
v is not contained in at^2.
a is not contained in 2tv.
The smallest power of t is 1 in 2tv.
Therefore, the GCF of 2tv and at^2 is equal to t.