Factor -2x² - 98x

Factor -2x² - 98x - 96

Here we will show you how to factor the quadratic function -2x² - 98x - 96 using the box method. In other words, we will show you how to factor negative 2x squared minus 98x minus 96 (-2x^2 - 98x - 96) using the box method. It is a 5-step process:

Step 1: The standard form of a quadratic equation is ax² + bx + c. In this equation, a is negative. Therefore, we need to start by setting aside the negative (-). We do this by flipping the signs in the equation to get 2x² + 98x + 96. Now we can label the different parts of our equation, like this:

a = 2
b = 98
c = 96

Step 2: Next, we need to draw a box and divide it into four squares:

2	2x	96
2x	2x²	96x
	x	48

We put 2x² (a) in the bottom left square and 96 (c) in the top right square, like this:

2	2x	96
2x	2x²	96x
	x	48

Step 3: In order to fill in the other two squares, we need to do some math. We have to find two numbers that multiply together to give us the product of 2 times 96 (a × c), and add together to equal 98 (b).

More specifically, 2 times 96 is 192. Therefore, we need to find the two numbers that multiply to equal 192, and add to equal 98.

? × ? = 192
? + ? = 98

After looking at this problem, we can see that the two numbers that multiply together to equal 192, and add together to equal 98, are 2 and 96, as illustrated here:

2 × 96 = 192
2 + 96 = 98

Now, we can fill in the last two squares in our box with 2x and 96x. Place 2x in the upper left square, and place 96x in the lower right square.

2	2x	96
2x	2x²	96x
	x	48

Step 4: Next, we need to find four final numbers to finish factoring our equation. We can see that our box is a 2 x 2 table made up of rows and columns.

Our goal is to find the numbers that, when multiplied together, result in the products in each square. We can do this by finding the greatest common factor in each row.

Let’s look at the top row. We have the terms 2x and 96. The greatest common factor of 2x and 96 is 2. Therefore, we write 2 to the left of the top row. You can see it here in the color green:

2	2x	96
2x	2x²	96x
	x	48

Next, let’s look at the bottom row. We have the terms 2x² and 96x. The greatest common factor of 2x² and 96x is 2x. Therefore, we write 2x to the left of the bottom row. You can see it here in the color blue:

2	2x	96
2x	2x²	96x
	x	48

To find the values below the table, we first divide 2x² by 2x (labeled in blue). This gives us x.

2x² ÷ 2x = x

You can see this value colored in orange below:

2	2x	96
2x	2x²	96x
	x	48

Next, we divide 96x by 2x (labeled in blue). This gives us 48.

96x ÷ 2x = 48

You can see this value colored in purple below:

2	2x	96
2x	2x²	96x
	x	48

Step 5: Now we have all of the information we need to finish factoring the equation. The values outside of the box are used to factor -2x² - 98x - 96. You simply put the values on the left in one set of parentheses, and the values below in another set of parentheses, to get:

(2x + 2)(x + 48)

In our original quadratic equation, -2x² - 98x - 96, a is negative. Therefore, we need to add a negative (-) sign before our two sets of parentheses, like this:

-(2x + 2)(x + 48)

That’s it! Now you know how to factor the equation -2x² - 98x - 96.

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