Question

Factor completely
5w^3-20w^2+3w-12

Answer 1

you could try factor by grouping which means you would factor 5w^3 and -20w^2 together. and 3w and -12 together

Answer 2

so it would be...-12w-12??
o my im lost

Answer 3

well lets take 5w^3 -20w^2 for now. what do the numbers 5 and 20 have in common? like you have to see if they can both be 'factored' by the same number.

Answer 4

5*4=20

Answer 5

yeah that's right! so we can 'take out 5 in common' or factor the 5. basically factoring is just a simpler way of writing the same equation. so 5w^3 -20w^2 = 5(w^3 - 4w^2)

Answer 6

because brackets mean multiplication right? so if you multiplied the 5 you would get the same thing

Answer 7

Factor by grouping. See what you can factor out of the first two terms, and see what you can factor out of the last two terms.
5w^3 - 20w^2 + 3w - 12
first two terms have 5w^2 as common factor
last two terms have factor of 3
5w^2(w - 4) + 3(w - 4)
Now notice that (w - 4) is a common factor, so take it out
(w - 4)(5w^2 + 3)

Answer 8

is that the answer?

Answer 9

@mathstudent55

Answer 10

Yes, w - 4 cannot be factored, and 5w^2 + 3 cannot be factored, so that's it.