Factoring Trinomials
The following diagram shows how to factor trinomials with no guessing. Scroll down the page for more examples and solutions of factoring trinomials.
To factor a trinomial means to write the trinomial as a product of two factors. It is the reverse of expansion (FOIL).
Example:
In order to factor the trinomial,
we need to find two constants p and q such that:
Now, if we expand the RHS we will get:
Comparing coefficients, we get:
So, b = p + q and c = pq.
In other words, we need to find two constants p and q such that their sum p + q = b and their product pq = c.
The following videos will illustrate how to factor trinomials.
Factoring Trinomials - with no guessing
Factoring Trinomials - with guessing
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