Section 1.5 : Factoring Polynomials
11. Factor the following polynomial.
\[6{t^2} - 19t - 7\]Show All Steps Hide All Steps
Start SolutionThere are two sets of positive factors of 6 and so we will have one of the two following possible initial forms for the factoring.
\[\left( {2t + \underline {\,\,\,\,\,} } \right)\left( {3t + \underline {\,\,\,\,\,} } \right)\hspace{0.25in}\hspace{0.25in}\hspace{0.25in}\hspace{0.25in}\left( {6t + \underline {\,\,\,\,\,} } \right)\left( {t + \underline {\,\,\,\,\,} } \right)\]and the factors of -7 are,
\[\left( { - 1} \right)\left( 7 \right)\,\hspace{0.25in}\left( 1 \right)\left( { - 7} \right)\] Show Step 2After some trial and error we see that the correct factoring will then be,
\[6{t^2} - 19t - 7 = \require{bbox} \bbox[2pt,border:1px solid black]{{\left( {2t - 7} \right)\left( {3t + 1} \right)}}\]