Now that the equation has been factored, solve for x.

$factor a quadratic equation$

Using the reverse of the distributive property we can write the outside expressions (shown in red in Step 6) as a second polynomial factor. If this does not occur, regroup the terms and try again. Notice that the parenthetical expression is the same for both groups. Step 7: Rewrite the equation as two polynomial factors. Step 6: Factor the greatest common denominator from each group. Step 4: Rewrite bx as a sum of two x -terms using the factor pair found in Step 3. If p is negative and b is positive, the larger factor will be positive and the smaller will be negative.ģ.2: p = 12, a positive number, therefore both factors will be positive or both factors will be negative.ģ.3: b = 7, a positive number, therefore both factors will be positive. If p is positive and b is negative, both factors will be negative. If both p and b are negative, the larger factor will be negative and the smaller will be positive. If both p and b are positive, both factors will be positive.

If p is negative then one factor will be positive and the other negative.ģ.3: Determine the factor pair that will add to give b. If p is positive then both factors will be positive or both factors will be negative. Step 3: Determine the factor pairs of p that will add to b.įirst ask yourself what are the factors pairs of p, ignoring the negative sign for now.

c and find the factors of the result, let's call this p.This equation is already in the proper form where a = 3, b = 7 and c = 4. Step 1: Write the equation in the general form

Factor a quadratic equation