<PRE><B>Question 183249</B>
I&#39;m assuming that you want to factor this.




Looking at the expression {{{3x^2-4x-4}}}, we can see that the first coefficient is {{{3}}}, the second coefficient is {{{-4}}}, and the last term is {{{-4}}}.



Now multiply the first coefficient {{{3}}} by the last term {{{-4}}} to get {{{(3)(-4)=-12}}}.



Now the question is: what two whole numbers multiply to {{{-12}}} (the previous product) &lt;font size=4&gt;&lt;b&gt;and&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt; add to the second coefficient {{{-4}}}?



To find these two numbers, we need to list &lt;font size=4&gt;&lt;b&gt;all&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt; of the factors of {{{-12}}} (the previous product).



Factors of {{{-12}}}:

1,2,3,4,6,12

-1,-2,-3,-4,-6,-12



Note: list the negative of each factor. This will allow us to find all possible combinations.



These factors pair up and multiply to {{{-12}}}.

1*(-12)
2*(-6)
3*(-4)
(-1)*(12)
(-2)*(6)
(-3)*(4)


Now let&#39;s add up each pair of factors to see if one pair adds to the middle coefficient {{{-4}}}:



&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;th&gt;First Number&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Second Number&lt;/th&gt;&lt;th&gt;Sum&lt;/th&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;1&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;-12&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;1+(-12)=-11&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=red&gt;2&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=red&gt;-6&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=red&gt;2+(-6)=-4&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;3&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;-4&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;3+(-4)=-1&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;-1&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;12&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;-1+12=11&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;-2&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;6&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;-2+6=4&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;-3&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;4&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td  align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=black&gt;-3+4=1&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;



From the table, we can see that the two numbers {{{2}}} and {{{-6}}} add to {{{-4}}} (the middle coefficient).



So the two numbers {{{2}}} and {{{-6}}} both multiply to {{{-12}}} &lt;font size=4&gt;&lt;b&gt;and&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt; add to {{{-4}}}



Now replace the middle term {{{-4x}}} with {{{2x-6x}}}. Remember, {{{2}}} and {{{-6}}} add to {{{-4}}}. So this shows us that {{{2x-6x=-4x}}}.



{{{3x^2+highlight(2x-6x)-4}}} Replace the second term {{{-4x}}} with {{{2x-6x}}}.



{{{(3x^2+2x)+(-6x-4)}}} Group the terms into two pairs.



{{{x(3x+2)+(-6x-4)}}} Factor out the GCF {{{x}}} from the first group.



{{{x(3x+2)-2(3x+2)}}} Factor out {{{2}}} from the second group. The goal of this step is to make the terms in the second parenthesis equal to the terms in the first parenthesis.



{{{(x-2)(3x+2)}}} Combine like terms. Or factor out the common term {{{3x+2}}}


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Answer:



So {{{3x^2-4x-4}}} factors to {{{(x-2)(3x+2)}}}.



Note: you can check the answer by FOILing {{{(x-2)(3x+2)}}} to get {{{3x^2-4x-4}}} or by graphing the original expression and the answer (the two graphs should be identical).
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