Question

Factor this expression completely and then place the factors in the proper location. Note: Place factors alphabetically!

mn - 4m - 5n + 20

Answer 1

To solve this problem you must apply the proccedure shown below:

1. You have the following expression given in the problem above:

$mn - 4m - 5n + 20$

2. The first thing you must do to factor the expression is to group the terms, as following:

$(mn-4m)+(-5n+20)$

3. Now, choose the greatest common factor of each group:

$m(n-4)-5(n-4)$

4. Now, you need to factor the expression by factoring out the $n-4$

$(m-5)(n-4)$

The answer is: $(m-5)(n-4)$