-How to Factor Trinomials-

Here is an example of a trinomial:

x^2+2x-4

To factor, these are the steps you use.

x^2+2x-3

(x+3)(x-1)

1. Draw two pairs of parantheses.

2. Next, you put an x in each parantheses, because x times x = x^2. If the problem said 2x^2, you would insert the numbers 2x and x, and 3x^2, you would insert 3x and x, etc.

3. Third, you find factors of the far right number (-3) that add up to the middle number (2x) and put those numbers following the x's. Be sure to make sure if there are negatives in the variables, that one of the factors has a negative number so that when mulitiplied, it equals a negative number.

Here is another example:

2x^2-10x-48

(2x+6)(x-8)

4. In some cases, you can factor a number out of every variable to make it simpler to factor.

For example:

3x^2+6x-3

You can factor out a 3 to make it look like this:

3(x^2+2x-1)

5. Step back and admire your work. : )