Factor 36x² + 100x + 56

Here we will show you how to factor the quadratic function 36x² + 100x + 56 using the box method. In other words, we will show you how to factor 36x squared plus 100x plus 56 (36x^2 + 100x + 56) using the box method. It is a 5-step process:

Step 1: The standard form of a quadratic equation is ax² + bx + c. We start by labeling the different parts of our equation 36x² + 100x + 56, like this:

a = 36
b = 100
c = 56

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

28	28x	56
36x	36x²	72x
	x	2

We put 36x² (a) in the bottom left square and 56 (c) in the top right square, like this:

28	28x	56
36x	36x²	72x
	x	2

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 36 times 56 (a × c), and add together to equal 100 (b).

More specifically, 36 times 56 is 2016. Therefore, we need to find the two numbers that multiply to equal 2016, and add to equal 100.

? × ? = 2016
? + ? = 100

After looking at this problem, we can see that the two numbers that multiply together to equal 2016, and add together to equal 100, are 28 and 72, as illustrated here:

28 × 72 = 2016
28 + 72 = 100

Now, we can fill in the last two squares in our box with 28x and 72x. Place 28x in the upper left square, and place 72x in the lower right square.

28	28x	56
36x	36x²	72x
	x	2

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 28x and 56. The greatest common factor of 28x and 56 is 28. Therefore, we write 28 to the left of the top row. You can see it here in the color green:

28	28x	56
36x	36x²	72x
	x	2

Next, let’s look at the bottom row. We have the terms 36x² and 72x. The greatest common factor of 36x² and 72x is 36x. Therefore, we write 36x to the left of the bottom row. You can see it here in the color blue:

28	28x	56
36x	36x²	72x
	x	2

To find the values below the table, we first divide 36x² by 36x (labeled in blue). This gives us x.

36x² ÷ 36x = x

You can see this value colored in orange below:

28	28x	56
36x	36x²	72x
	x	2

Next, we divide 72x by 36x (labeled in blue). This gives us 2.

72x ÷ 36x = 2

You can see this value colored in purple below:

28	28x	56
36x	36x²	72x
	x	2

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 36x² + 100x + 56. You simply put the values on the left in one set of parentheses, and the values below in another set of parentheses, to get the answer:

(36x + 28)(x + 2)

That’s it! Now you know how to factor the equation 36x² + 100x + 56.

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