Factorise 3x^2 + 14x + 8

To factorise polynomials of the form ax^2 + bx + c, we want to rewrite the middle coefficient as the sum of two smaller numbers. The product of these two numbers should be equal to a * c (in this case, 3 * 8 = 24), and the sum of the two numbers should equal b (in this case, 14). Here, we can see that the values 2 and 12 fit this criteria. Rewriting the original expression would then look like this: 3x^2 + 2x + 12x + 8
From here we can factorise by grouping together the first two terms and the last two terms. By taking the greatest common factor of each group, we get x(3x+2) + 4(3x+2). As (3x+2) appears in both terms here, we can further simplify to (x+4)(3x+2).

Answered by Alex M. Maths tutor

8661 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

A bottle contains 300ml of medicine, the dose for a child can be given by (m*a)/150 where m is the child's age in months and a is the adult dosage of 40ml. If you need 2 doses a day, how long will the medicine last until it's empty for a 2y/o child?


If a right angled-triangle has sides A,B,C where A = 4 and B = 3 what is the value of side C?


How do you find 24% of 1546?


Solve the simultaneous equations x^2+y^2=1 and x+2y=1


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences