Factor -48x² - 94x

Factor -48x² - 94x - 26

Here we will show you how to factor the quadratic function -48x² - 94x - 26 using the box method. In other words, we will show you how to factor negative 48x squared minus 94x minus 26 (-48x^2 - 94x - 26) 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 48x² + 94x + 26. Now we can label the different parts of our equation, like this:

a = 48
b = 94
c = 26

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

2	16x	26
6x	48x²	78x
	8x	13

We put 48x² (a) in the bottom left square and 26 (c) in the top right square, like this:

2	16x	26
6x	48x²	78x
	8x	13

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 48 times 26 (a × c), and add together to equal 94 (b).

More specifically, 48 times 26 is 1248. Therefore, we need to find the two numbers that multiply to equal 1248, and add to equal 94.

? × ? = 1248
? + ? = 94

After looking at this problem, we can see that the two numbers that multiply together to equal 1248, and add together to equal 94, are 16 and 78, as illustrated here:

16 × 78 = 1248
16 + 78 = 94

Now, we can fill in the last two squares in our box with 16x and 78x. Place 16x in the upper left square, and place 78x in the lower right square.

2	16x	26
6x	48x²	78x
	8x	13

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 16x and 26. The greatest common factor of 16x and 26 is 2. Therefore, we write 2 to the left of the top row. You can see it here in the color green:

2	16x	26
6x	48x²	78x
	8x	13

Next, let’s look at the bottom row. We have the terms 48x² and 78x. The greatest common factor of 48x² and 78x is 6x. Therefore, we write 6x to the left of the bottom row. You can see it here in the color blue:

2	16x	26
6x	48x²	78x
	8x	13

To find the values below the table, we first divide 48x² by 6x (labeled in blue). This gives us 8x.

48x² ÷ 6x = 8x

You can see this value colored in orange below:

2	16x	26
6x	48x²	78x
	8x	13

Next, we divide 78x by 6x (labeled in blue). This gives us 13.

78x ÷ 6x = 13

You can see this value colored in purple below:

2	16x	26
6x	48x²	78x
	8x	13

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 -48x² - 94x - 26. You simply put the values on the left in one set of parentheses, and the values below in another set of parentheses, to get:

(6x + 2)(8x + 13)

In our original quadratic equation, -48x² - 94x - 26, a is negative. Therefore, we need to add a negative (-) sign before our two sets of parentheses, like this:

-(6x + 2)(8x + 13)

That’s it! Now you know how to factor the equation -48x² - 94x - 26.

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