1. **State the problem:** Factor the expression $32a + 36$ completely. 2. **Identify the greatest common factor (GCF):** Find the largest number that divides both coefficients 32 and 36. 3. **Calculate the GCF:** $$\text{GCF}(32, 36) = 4$$ 4. **Factor out the GCF:** $$32a + 36 = 4 \times 8a + 4 \times 9 = 4(8a + 9)$$ 5. **Check if further factoring is possible:** The expression inside the parentheses $8a + 9$ has no common factors and cannot be factored further. 6. **Final answer:** $$32a + 36 = 4(8a + 9)$$ This means the expression is factored completely by taking out the common factor 4.