FULLY Factoring this "polynomial"

Question

So, after a series of step, I was left with (4x-12x), now I need to factor that out completely. So I thought about taking a 4x from each term, and having 4x(_ - 3), however, since I took out a 4x, which was an entire term, what do I write in for that blank space? A 1?

Answer 1

Instead of factoring out 4x, since what you have is just two single-power quantities, I would just simplify "4x - 12x" to "-8x".

Answer 2

Instead of factoring out $4x$, try factoring out just $x$. Perhaps this will make it easier for you to understand. $$ 4x-12x =x(4-12)=x(-8)=-8x $$