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x2 + 3x 4 are:
(x+4) and (x1)
Common Factor
First check if there any common factors.
2(3x2 x) = 0
And x2 and x have a common factor of x:
2x(3x 1) = 0
And we have done it! The factors are 2x and 3x 1,
2x is 0 when x = 0
And this is the graph (see how it is zero at x=0 and x=1/3):
Let us try to guess an answer, and then check if we are right ... we might
get lucky!
(2x+3)(x+1) = 2x2 + 2x + 3x + 3
= 2x2 + 5x + 3 (WRONG)
How about (2x+7)(x1):
(2x+7)(x1) = 2x2 2x + 7x 7
= 2x2 + 5x 7 (WRONG AGAIN)
OK, how about (2x+9)(x1):
(2x+9)(x1) = 2x2 2x + 9x 9
= 2x2 + 7x 9 (WRONG AGAIN)
Oh No! We could be guessing for a long time before we get lucky.
That is not a very good method. So let us try something else.
b.
2x2 + 7x + 3
ac is 23 = 6 and b is 7
So we want two numbers that multiply together to make 6, and add up to 7
In fact 6 and 1 do that (61=6, and 6+1=7)
How do we find 6 and 1?
It helps to list the factors of ac=6, and then try adding some to get b=7.
Factors of 6 include 1, 2, 3 and 6.
Aha! 1 and 6 add to 7, and 61=6.
Step 2: Rewrite the middle with those numbers:
Rewrite 7x with 6x and 1x:
2x2 + 6x + x + 3
Step 3: Factor the first two and last two terms separately:
The first two terms 2x2 + 6x factor into 2x(x+3)
The last two terms x+3 don't actually change in this case
So we get:
2x(x+3) + (x+3)
Step 4: If we've done this correctly, our two new terms should have a clearly
visible common factor.
In this case we can see that (x+3) is common to both terms
So we can now rewrite it like this:
49 = 36 and 4+9 = 5
6x2 4x + 9x 6
Step 3: Factor first two and last two:
2x(3x 2) + 3(3x 2)
Step 4: Common Factor is (3x 2):
(2x+3)(3x 2)
b.
Why Factor?
Well, one of the big benefits of factoring is that we can find the roots of the
quadratic equation (where the equation is zero).
All we need to do (after factoring) is find where each of the two factors
becomes zero
(2x + 3)(3x 2)
And we can figure out that
(2x + 3) is zero when
and
x = 3/2
So the roots of
x = 2/3
6x2 + 5x 6 are:
3/2 and 2/3
Here is a plot of
Graphing
We can also try graphing the quadratic equation . Seeing where it equals
zero can give us clues.
Example: (continued)
Starting with
The roots are around x = 1.5 and x = +0.67, so we can guess the roots
are:
and the other is for the "" case in the ""), and we get this factoring:
a(x x+)(x x)
Let us use the previous example to see how that works:
x = (b [b2 4ac]) / 2a
x = (5 [52 46(6)]) / 26
= (5 [25 + 144]) / 12
= (5 169) / 12
= (5 13) / 12
So the two roots are:
Factor 6x2 + x - 2
Step 1: Find two numbers that add to give b, and multiply to give ac
b=1
ac = 6 (-2) = -12
So we want two numbers that add up to 1, and multiply together to make -12.
In fact -3 and 4 do that (-3 + 4 = 1, and -3 4 = -12)
Step 2: Rewrite the middle with those numbers:
Rewrite x with -3x and 4x:
6x2 - 3x + 4x - 2
Step 3: Factor the first two and last two terms separately:
The first two terms 6x2 - 3x factor into 3x(2x - 1)
The last two terms 4x - 2 factor into 2(2x - 1)
So we get:
3x(2x - 1) + 2(2x - 1)
Step 4: If you've done this correctly, your two new terms should have a clearly
visible common factor.
In this case you can see that (2x - 1) is common to both terms
So we can now rewrite it like this:
3x(2x - 1) + 2(2x - 1) = (3x + 2)(2x - 1)