SOLUTION: how do u factor 2w^2+13w-20 im having trouble

Question 687132: how do u factor 2w^2+13w-20 im having trouble
Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!

Looking at the expression , we can see that the first coefficient is , the second coefficient is , and the last term is .

Now multiply the first coefficient by the last term to get .

Now the question is: what two whole numbers multiply to (the previous product) and add to the second coefficient ?

To find these two numbers, we need to list all of the factors of (the previous product).

Factors of :
1,2,4,5,8,10,20,40
-1,-2,-4,-5,-8,-10,-20,-40

Note: list the negative of each factor. This will allow us to find all possible combinations.

These factors pair up and multiply to .
1*(-40) = -40
2*(-20) = -40
4*(-10) = -40
5*(-8) = -40
(-1)*(40) = -40
(-2)*(20) = -40
(-4)*(10) = -40
(-5)*(8) = -40

Now let's add up each pair of factors to see if one pair adds to the middle coefficient :

First Number	Second Number	Sum
1	-40	1+(-40)=-39
2	-20	2+(-20)=-18
4	-10	4+(-10)=-6
5	-8	5+(-8)=-3
-1	40	-1+40=39
-2	20	-2+20=18
-4	10	-4+10=6
-5	8	-5+8=3

From the table, we can see that there are no pairs of numbers which add to . So cannot be factored.

===============================================================

Answer:

So doesn't factor at all (over the rational numbers).

So is prime.

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