SOLUTION: how do you factor this polynomial x^2+14x+24

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Question 141051This question is from textbook Algebra 1
: how do you factor this polynomial x^2+14x+24 This question is from textbook Algebra 1

Found 2 solutions by jim_thompson5910, vleith:
Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!

Looking at x%5E2%2B14x%2B24 we can see that the first term is x%5E2 and the last term is 24 where the coefficients are 1 and 24 respectively.

Now multiply the first coefficient 1 and the last coefficient 24 to get 24. Now what two numbers multiply to 24 and add to the middle coefficient 14? Let's list all of the factors of 24:



Factors of 24:
1,2,3,4,6,8,12,24

-1,-2,-3,-4,-6,-8,-12,-24 ...List the negative factors as well. This will allow us to find all possible combinations

These factors pair up and multiply to 24
1*24
2*12
3*8
4*6
(-1)*(-24)
(-2)*(-12)
(-3)*(-8)
(-4)*(-6)

note: remember two negative numbers multiplied together make a positive number


Now which of these pairs add to 14? Lets make a table of all of the pairs of factors we multiplied and see which two numbers add to 14

First NumberSecond NumberSum
1241+24=25
2122+12=14
383+8=11
464+6=10
-1-24-1+(-24)=-25
-2-12-2+(-12)=-14
-3-8-3+(-8)=-11
-4-6-4+(-6)=-10



From this list we can see that 2 and 12 add up to 14 and multiply to 24


Now looking at the expression x%5E2%2B14x%2B24, replace 14x with 2x%2B12x (notice 2x%2B12x adds up to 14x. So it is equivalent to 14x)

x%5E2%2Bhighlight%282x%2B12x%29%2B24


Now let's factor x%5E2%2B2x%2B12x%2B24 by grouping:


%28x%5E2%2B2x%29%2B%2812x%2B24%29 Group like terms


x%28x%2B2%29%2B12%28x%2B2%29 Factor out the GCF of x out of the first group. Factor out the GCF of 12 out of the second group


%28x%2B12%29%28x%2B2%29 Since we have a common term of x%2B2, we can combine like terms

So x%5E2%2B2x%2B12x%2B24 factors to %28x%2B12%29%28x%2B2%29


So this also means that x%5E2%2B14x%2B24 factors to %28x%2B12%29%28x%2B2%29 (since x%5E2%2B14x%2B24 is equivalent to x%5E2%2B2x%2B12x%2B24)


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Answer:

So x%5E2%2B14x%2B24 factors to %28x%2B12%29%28x%2B2%29

Answer by vleith(2983) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Given: x%5E2%2B14x%2B24
The coefficient on x^2 is 1. So, in order to factor this equation, you need to find the factors of 24 that when added together, result in a sum of 14. What are the factors of 24?
1,24
2,12
3,8
4,6
What are the sums of those pairs of numbers?
25,
14
11
10
So the factors we want are 2,12
x%5E2%2B14x%2B24
%28x+%2B+12%29%28x+%2B+2%29