Explain how you could use algebra tiles to factor 5x + 15

Using algebra tiles, you can easily factor this equation by laying out all if the tiles and writing down exactly what you see.

The equation has a value of 5x, which is the same as five x tiles. If you put those out, you can see that you have the five x tiles, which can be written (or factored) as x+x+x+x+x. This is the first part of the equation.

the second part of the equation works quite the same. If you lay down 15 tiles, each with the value of 1, it can be written as 1+1+1+1 ... and so one until you get to the final value of 15 ones.

The entire equation should be written as x+x+x+x+x+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+!