4x^2-3x-1

Question

4x^2-3x-1

anonymous · Answer

explain slowly please

anonymous · Answer

What do you have to do in this question?

anonymous · Answer

Solve or factor?

anonymous · Answer

A method to factor this kind of polynomial is to rewrite the middle term -3x as a sum of the product (4)(-1)=-4

anonymous · Answer

factor

anonymous · Answer

For example,$$4x^2-3x+1=4x^2-4x+x+1$$ Now factor the GCF out of the first two terms and rewrite as $$=4x(x-1)+(x-1)$$

anonymous · Answer

From here, factor out the x-1 as a GCF to get
$$=(x-1)(4x+1)$$

anonymous · Answer

A second degree trinomial of the form $$ax^2+bx+c$$ is factorable if there are factors of ac that add up to b.

Then you can take the factors of ac and use them as coefficients to rewrite b.  This creates four terms, and you can factor by "grouping."  That means the first two terms should have a GCF, and the second two terms May have a GCF.

In your example the GCF of the first two terms was 4x, but there was no GCF for the second two terms, so I just put parentheses around them.

The last step is to treat the binomial as a GCF and to factor it out.  Then you are finished.