4x^2-3x-12x+19

Question

how do i factor this equation out

Answer 1

first simplify:  4x^2 - 15x + 19

Since this doesn't look to be easily factored, we should use the quadratic equation:

(-b +or- sqrt(b^2 - 2ac))/2a

a, b, c are the coefficients in front of each "chunk" of this equation.

a = 4, b = -15, c = 19  (now plug into formula)

(-(-15) +or- sqrt((-15)^2 - 4*4*19))/2*4   (simplify)

(15 +or- sqrt(225 - 304))/8

(15 +or- sqrt(-79)/8  (OOPS!!!!!  there is a problem here.  can't have a negative square root.  either double check that the question is copied down properly, or we can continue to factor imaginary numbers.)

15/8 +or- 8.89(i)/8

*answer:  1.875 +or- 1.112(i)