Post# 2: Factoring quadratic trinomials

 

How to Factor a Trinomial in 3 Easy Steps😀

 Learning how to factor a trinomial is an extremely important and useful algebra skill, but factoring trinomials can also be very tricky.

A step-by-step guide will teach you how to factor a trinomial when a=1 and when a does a does not equal one (more on what a refers to later) using a simple three-step process.

Before you learn how to factor a trinomial, lets do a quick review of some very important vocabulary and definitions related to trinomials.

 Trinomial Definition 

A trinomial is a polynomial that has three terms. The first time is an x^2 term,

the second term is an x term, and the third term is a constant (just a number). 

Again, note that a=1 in this example.

Now let’s factor the trinomial: x^2 +6x+8

Step 1: Identify the values for b and c.

In this example, b=6 and c=8.

Step 2: Find two numbers that ADD to b and MULTIPLY to c.

This step can take a little bit of trial-and-error.

For instance, you could pick 5 and 1 because 5+1=6. But 5 x 1 does not equal 8, so these numbers would not work.

However, if you chose 4 and 2, you can easily confirm that:

4 + 2 =6 (the value of b); and

4 x 2 = 8 (the value of c)

Step 3: Use the numbers you picked to write out the factors and check

For this example, the factors would be (x+2) and (x+4)

Final Answer: (x+4)(x+2)

You can check your answer by multiplying the two factors (binomials) together to see if the result is the original trinomial as follows:

 Notice that 2x and 4x are like terms that can be combined.

 Multiplying the factors results in the original trinomial quadratic Trinomials Factoring Trinomials Factoring