Factor 2a^2-4a+a-2

$2 a^{2} - 4 a + a - 2$

Step 1

Reorder terms.

$2 a^{2} + a - 4 a - 2$

Step 2

Factor out the greatest common factor from each group.

Group the first two terms and the last two terms.

$(2 a^{2} + a) - 4 a - 2$

Factor out the greatest common factor (GCF) from each group.

$a (2 a + 1) - 2 (2 a + 1)$

Step 3

Factor the polynomial by factoring out the greatest common factor, $2 a + 1$ .

$(2 a + 1) (a - 2)$