Complex Trinomial

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Taught by dougsimmsonline
  • Currently 4.0/5 Stars.
8115 views | 1 rating
Part of video series
Meets NCTM Standards:
Lesson Summary:

In this lesson, you will learn how to factorize complex trinomials, where the numerical coefficient of the first term is not one. The method involves identifying A, B, and C, and finding a fourth number by multiplying A and C. The process then diverges from simple trinomials as we rewrite the question, put a plus sign, and form brackets with the two numbers that multiply to give AC but add up to B. We break the bracket up and factor out the greatest common factors to get our final answer. While the method is a bit more complicated, it is still effective in solving complex trinomials.

Lesson Description:

The method for factoring a trinomial of the form ax^2 + bx + c (where a does not equal 1).

Additional Resources:
Questions answered by this video:
  • How do you factor trinomials where the leading coefficient is not 1?
  • How do you factor complex trinomials when a does not equal 1?
  • How do you factor 6x^2 - 5x - 4?
  • How do you factor 2p^2 - 3pq + q^2?
  • How do you know what a, b, and c are in a trinomial?
  • How do you factor a trinomial with two variables?
  • How do you factor 2p^2 - 2pq - pq + q^2 by grouping?
  • How do you factor 6x^2 + 3x - 8x - 4 by grouping?
  • Staff Review

    • Currently 4.0/5 Stars.
    This lesson does a great job of explaining how to factor trinomials with a leading coefficient other than 1. The work is shown clearly with each step explained. This is a very good factoring tutorial.