How do you factor #25x ^ { 3} - 100x ^ { 2} - 9x + 36#?

1 Answer
Jun 26, 2018

We can split the entire expression into two parts and then combine the resulting binomials. This will give us our answer of #(25x^2-9)(x-4).#

Explanation:

Let's focus on #25x^3-100x^2# first. We can factor out #25x^2# from each term to get #25x^2(x-4)#. The other side, #-9x+36#, can have #-9# be factored out to give us #-9(x-4)#. Let's put our equation back together:

#25x^2(x-4)-9(x-4)#

How do we combine the binomials? Notice how #(x-4)# is a result of both parts. This will be one of our binomials. We also have #25x^2# and #-9# on the outsides of our parentheses. We'll put those two together to form our second binomial. Our answer is:

#(25x^2-9)(x-4)#

And here's a double check:

#(25x^2*x)+(25x^2*-4)+(-9*x)+(-9*-4)#
#25x^3-100x^2-9x+36# <----- Expression that we started with!