Factoring a Quadratic Trinomial Step 2: Insert the two numbers that have a product of c and a sum of b. 2 and 5 are the factors of 10 that add up to 7 Step 3: Check your solution by multiplying out the binomials!
Watch Your Signs! The signs of your c and b values are VERY important! Will you ever be able to add two positive numbers and get - 6? * When your product (c) is positive and your sum (b) is negative, you will need two negative factors.
Keep Watching Your Signs! The signs of your c and b values are still VERY important! * When your product (c) is negative and your sum (b) is positive, the smaller factor will be negative and the larger factor will be positive. We want a positive result, so we need to keep the larger factor positive.
Signs, Signs, Signs…. The signs of your c and b values are still VERY important! * When your product (c) is negative and your sum (b) is negative, the smaller factor will be positive and the larger factor will be negative. We want a negative result, so we need to keep the larger factor negative.
Practice