Factor 3x^2-8x-3

$3 x^{2} - 8 x - 3$

Step 1

For a polynomial of the form $a x^{2} + b x + c$ , rewrite the middle term as a sum of two terms whose product is $a \cdot c = 3 \cdot - 3 = - 9$ and whose sum is $b = - 8$ .

Factor $- 8$ out of $- 8 x$ .

$3 x^{2} - 8 (x) - 3$

Rewrite $- 8$ as $1$ plus $- 9$

$3 x^{2} + (1 - 9) x - 3$

Apply the distributive property.

$3 x^{2} + 1 x - 9 x - 3$

Multiply $x$ by $1$ .

$3 x^{2} + x - 9 x - 3$

Step 2

Factor out the greatest common factor from each group.

Group the first two terms and the last two terms.

$(3 x^{2} + x) - 9 x - 3$

Factor out the greatest common factor (GCF) from each group.

$x (3 x + 1) - 3 (3 x + 1)$

Step 3

Factor the polynomial by factoring out the greatest common factor, $3 x + 1$ .

$(3 x + 1) (x - 3)$

Factor 3x^2-8x-3

Related Questions

Support LCMGCF.com by disabling your adblocker.