Lesson 5

Factoring General Trinomials

 Objectives

 Accurately determine if a trinomial is factorable or

not;
 Correctly and completely factor a general trinomial; and

 Accurately solve word problems involving the factors of

a general trinomial.
 Learn about it!
To factor out a general trinomial, you can use the technique
called the “AC method”, which is basically the “inverse” of the
FOIL method.

Suppose the product of two numbers is . What are the numbers?

 First, identify the coefficients A and C of the trinomial in
the form, and then find their product.

2
𝑥 +5 𝑥 +6
2
𝐴 𝑥 + B 𝑥 +C
 .

𝐴=1 𝐶 =6
𝐴𝐶=1 𝑥 6
𝐴𝐶=6
 Then find the factors of that add up to the middle term’s
coefficient, B. In this case, .

Factors of 6 Sum
1, 6 7
2, 3 5

The factors of 6 that have a sum of 5 are 2 and

3.
Next, rewrite the trinomial by expanding the middle term, into

Fa
 Regroup the polynomial into two sets of binomials. Factor
each binomial using their greatest common factor. Then we
factor the common binomial factor from each set to form the two
factors.
2 2
𝑥 +5 𝑥 +6= 𝑥 + 2 𝑥 +3 𝑥+ 6
¿ (𝑥¿ ¿ 2+2 𝑥 )+(3 𝑥 +6)¿
¿ 𝑥 ( 𝑥+2)+3 ( 𝑥+ 2)
¿ ( 𝑥+2)( 𝑥 +3)
Thus, written in factored form,
 Let’s Practice
Example 1: Factor
completely:.
Solution:
Step 1:
Check if there is a common monomial factor and/or if the
given trinomial is a perfect square. If so, factor accordingly.
 The terms of have no common monomial factor.

 is not a perfect square trinomial.

Step 2:

Fi
nd
2
1 𝑥 +7 𝑥 +10
𝐴=1 𝐶=10
𝐴𝐶=1 𝑥 10
𝐴𝐶=10
Step 3:
Then find the factors of that add up to the middle term’s
coefficient, B. In this case, .
Factors of 10 Sum
1, 10 11
2, 5 7

The factors of 10 that have a sum of 7 are 2 and

5.
Note: When the coefficients of the middle and last terms are
both positive, the factors of must be both positive as well.
Step 4:

Rewrite the middle term of the original trinomial using the

factors obtained in step 3.

Fa
Step 5:
Regroup the resulting polynomial and factor each group using
their greatest common factor. Then factor out the common
binomial factor from set.
2 2
𝑥 +7 𝑥 +10¿ 𝑥 + 2 𝑥 +5 𝑥+10
¿ (𝑥¿ ¿ 2+2 𝑥 )+(5 𝑥 +10)¿
¿ 𝑥 ( 𝑥+2)+5 ( 𝑥+ 2)
¿ ( 𝑥+2)+( 𝑥+5)
Thus, written in factored form,
 Example 2:
Factor
completely:.
Solution:
Step 1:
Check if there is a common monomial factor and/or if the
given trinomial is a perfect square. If so, factor accordingly.
 The terms of have no common monomial factor.

 is not a perfect square trinomial.

Step 2:

Fi
nd
2
1 𝑥 +9 𝑥 +18
𝐴=1 𝐶=18
𝐴𝐶=1 𝑥 18
𝐴𝐶=18
Step 3:
Then find the factors of that add up to the middle term’s
coefficient, B. In this case, .
Factors of 18 Sum
1, 18 19
2, 9 11
3, 6 9

The factors of 18 that have a sum of 9 are 3 and

6.
Note: When the coefficients of the middle and last terms are
both positive, the factors of must be both positive as well.
Step 4:

Rewrite the middle term of the original trinomial using the

factors obtained in step 3.

Fa
Step 5:
Regroup the resulting polynomial and factor each group using
their greatest common factor. Then factor out the common
binomial factor from set.
2 2
𝑥 + 9 𝑥 +18
¿ 𝑥 + 3 𝑥+6 𝑥 +18
¿ (𝑥¿ ¿ 2+3 𝑥)+(6 𝑥+18 )¿
¿ 𝑥 ( 𝑥+3)+ 6( 𝑥 +3)
¿ ( 𝑥+3)+( 𝑥 +6)
Thus, written in factored form,
 Example 3:
Factor
Solution: completely:.
Step 1:
Check if there is a common monomial factor and/or if the
given trinomial is a perfect square. If so, factor accordingly.

 The terms of have common monomial factor.

5 𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑡h𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑛
2
𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 .
10 𝑥 +15 𝑥 −70
Simplify
5
¿ 5 (2 𝑥 ¿¿ 2+3 𝑥 −14)¿
 is not a perfect square trinomial.
Step 2:

For the trinomial

find
2
2 𝑥 +3 𝑥 − 1 4
𝐴=2 𝐶=−14
𝐴𝐶=2 𝑥(− 14)
𝐴𝐶=−28
Step 3:
Then find the factors of that add up to the middle term’s coefficient, B.
In this case, .
Factors of Sum
𝟏 , − 𝟐𝟖 −𝟐𝟕
− 𝟏 , 𝟐𝟖 𝟐𝟕
𝟐 , −𝟏𝟒 −𝟏𝟐
− 𝟐 , 𝟏𝟒 𝟏𝟐
𝟒 , −𝟕 −𝟑
−𝟒 ,𝟕 𝟑
The factors of that have a sum of 3 are
Note:and
When. the last term is negative, one of the factors of AC
must be positive while the other must be negative.
Step 4:

Rewrite the middle term of the original trinomial using the

factors obtained in step 3.

Fa
Step 5:
Regroup the resulting polynomial and factor each group using
their greatest common factor. Then factor out the common
binomial factor from set.
2 2
2 𝑥 +3 𝑥 − 1 4¿ 2 𝑥 − 4 𝑥+ 7 𝑥 −14
¿(2 𝑥 ¿¿2 − 4 𝑥)+(7 𝑥 − 14)¿
¿ 2 𝑥(𝑥 −2)+7(𝑥 −2)
¿ (2 𝑥 +7)+( 𝑥 −2)
Thus, written in factored form,
 Example 4:
Factor
completely:.
Solution:
Step 1:
Check if there is a common monomial factor and/or if the
given trinomial is a perfect square. If so, factor accordingly.
 The terms of have no common monomial factor.

 is not a perfect square trinomial.

Step 2:

Fi
nd
2
1 𝑥 −8 𝑥+ 12
𝐴=1 𝐶=12
𝐴𝐶=1 𝑥 12
𝐴𝐶=12
Step 3:
Then find the factors of that add up to the middle term’s
coefficient, B. In this case, .
Factors of 12 Sum
−𝟏 , −𝟏𝟐 − 𝟏𝟑
−𝟐 , −𝟔 − 𝟖
−𝟑 , −𝟒 − 𝟕
The factors of 12 that have a sum of are
and .
Note: When the last term is positive but the middle term is
negative, the factors of AC must be both negative.
Step 4:

Rewrite the middle term of the original trinomial using the

factors obtained in step 3.

Fa
Step 5:
Regroup the resulting polynomial and factor each group using
their greatest common factor. Then factor out the common
binomial factor from set.
2 2
𝑥 − 8 𝑥 +12¿ 𝑥 − 2 𝑥 − 6 𝑥+12
¿ (𝑥¿ ¿ 2− 2 𝑥)+(− 6 𝑥+12)¿
¿ 𝑥 ( 𝑥 − 2 ) − 6( 𝑥 −2)
¿ ( 𝑥 −6)+( 𝑥 − 2)
Thus, written in factored form,
 Exercises
1. What technique is used to factor general trinomials?

a. FOIL Method

b. AC Method
c. Square root Method
2. When using the AC method, you need to find_____.

a. Factors of whose sum is equal to

b. Addends of whose product is equal to

c. Factors of whose difference is equal to

3. When the last term of a factorable trinomial is
negative, which of the following statements is true?

a. Both of the factor must be negative

b. Both of the factor must be positive

c. One of the factors must be positivewhile the

others must be negative
4.

a.

b.

c.
5. F?

a.

b.

c.
Thank You
&
God Bless