Simple Trinomials

You must have already taken out a common factor.

The coefficient of the first term must be 1. It may not show.
Look for numbers that:
multiply to the last term,
and
add to the middle term :
eg: for x2 - 5x + 6 the numbers would multiply to +6 and add to -5.
The answer is a product of binomials using those numbers.
Example #1:
x2 - 5x + 6
Look for numbers that:
multiply to 6 and add to -5:
= (x - 3) (x - 2)
Example #2:
a2 + 3a - 28
Look for numbers that:
multiply to -28 and add to +3:
= (a - 4) (a + 7) 		Example #3:
x2 + 17xy + 60y2
Look for numbers that:
multiply to +60 and add to +17:
= (x + 12y) (x + 5y)

You should have the times tables up to 12 x 12 memorized by now. If not, make that a priority. Many of these questions will be unnecessarily difficult if you don't have the times tables memorized.

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