Use the distributive property to factor a monomial out of a polynomial. Factors are numbers that multiply together to produce another number. For example, 2 and 10 are factors of 20, as are 4 and 5 and 1 and 20. Factoring is the process of breaking a number down into its multiplicative factors.
Answer: Factoring is the opposite of using the distributive property to multiply. If you had: 7(3x + 8), you would distribute the 7 and multiply it both both terms. Factoring reverses that process.
