How do you factor 12x4 plus 10x3-12x2?

Answer 1

You would first factor out anything that is common between the 3 parts. 2x2 is the greatest common factor. To pull out the 2x2, you divide each term by 2x2 like so:

12x4/2x2=6x2

10x3/2x2=5x

-12x2/2x2=-6

We now know that 12x4+10x3-12x2= 2x2(6x2+5x-6)

The next step involves using the "slip and slide" method for the trinomial inside the parentheses:

6x2+5x-6

x2+5x-36

(x+9)(x-4)

(x+9/6)(x-4/6)

(x+3/2)(x-2/3)

(2x+3)(3x-2)

Remembering that the result for the slip and slide method only accounts for 6x2+5x-6 we must multiply (2x+3)(3x-2) by 2x2.

Your final answer is 2x2(2x+3)(3x-2).