Factor 3x² + 34x + 96

Here we will show you how to factor the quadratic function 3x² + 34x + 96 using the box method. In other words, we will show you how to factor 3x squared plus 34x plus 96 (3x^2 + 34x + 96) 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 3x² + 34x + 96, like this:

a = 3
b = 34
c = 96

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

16	16x	96
3x	3x²	18x
	x	6

We put 3x² (a) in the bottom left square and 96 (c) in the top right square, like this:

16	16x	96
3x	3x²	18x
	x	6

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 3 times 96 (a × c), and add together to equal 34 (b).

More specifically, 3 times 96 is 288. Therefore, we need to find the two numbers that multiply to equal 288, and add to equal 34.

? × ? = 288
? + ? = 34

After looking at this problem, we can see that the two numbers that multiply together to equal 288, and add together to equal 34, are 16 and 18, as illustrated here:

16 × 18 = 288
16 + 18 = 34

Now, we can fill in the last two squares in our box with 16x and 18x. Place 16x in the upper left square, and place 18x in the lower right square.

16	16x	96
3x	3x²	18x
	x	6

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 96. The greatest common factor of 16x and 96 is 16. Therefore, we write 16 to the left of the top row. You can see it here in the color green:

16	16x	96
3x	3x²	18x
	x	6

Next, let’s look at the bottom row. We have the terms 3x² and 18x. The greatest common factor of 3x² and 18x is 3x. Therefore, we write 3x to the left of the bottom row. You can see it here in the color blue:

16	16x	96
3x	3x²	18x
	x	6

To find the values below the table, we first divide 3x² by 3x (labeled in blue). This gives us x.

3x² ÷ 3x = x

You can see this value colored in orange below:

16	16x	96
3x	3x²	18x
	x	6

Next, we divide 18x by 3x (labeled in blue). This gives us 6.

18x ÷ 3x = 6

You can see this value colored in purple below:

16	16x	96
3x	3x²	18x
	x	6

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 3x² + 34x + 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 the answer:

(3x + 16)(x + 6)

That’s it! Now you know how to factor the equation 3x² + 34x + 96.

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