How do you factor #-2x ^ 2 + 7x -3?

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Answer 1 · 2015-05-07T05:03:54

We can Split the Middle Term of this expression to factorise it

In this technique, if we have to factorise an expression like $ax^2 + bx + c$ , we need to think of 2 numbers such that:

$N_1*N_2 = a*c = -2*-3 = 6$
AND
$N_1 +N_2 = b = 7$

After trying out a few numbers we get $N_1 = 6$ and $N_2 =1$

$6*1 = 6$ , and $6+1= 7$

$-2x ^ 2 + 7x -3 = -2x^2 +6x + x - 3$

$= -2x(x-3) + 1(x-3)$

$x-3$ is a common factor to each of the terms

$=color(green)((x-3)(-2x+1)$