Answer: The given quadratic expression is -3x²+172x-20. To factor this expression, we look for two numbers that multiply to -20 and add to 172.
We can start by dividing -20 by different numbers and checking if the product and the sum of the divisors equals -20 and 172 respectively.
-20/1 = -20, 1+-20 = -19
-20/2 = -10, 2+-10 = -8
-20/4 = -5, 4+-5 = -1
-20/-1 = 20, -1+20 = 19
-20/-2 = 10, -2+10 = 8
-20/-4 = 5, -4+5 = 1
We can see that the divisors that multiply to -20 and add to 172 are (x+8)(x-5)
So, we can factor the quadratic expression as:
-3x²+172x-20 = -3(x+8)(x-5)
Hope this helps!
Explanation: