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To factor 6x2 + bx+5, a student correctly rewrites the trinomial as 6x2 + px +qx+5. What is the value of pq?

User Cody Covey
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Final answer:

To factor the expression 6x^2 + bx + 5, we rewrite the middle term to find two numbers p and q whose product pq is equal to 30, which is the product of the coefficient of x^2 (6) and the constant term (5).

Step-by-step explanation:

To factor the quadratic expression 6x2 + bx + 5, we split the middle term bx into two terms px and qx such that when multiplied (px)*(qx)= pq, they give the product of the coefficient of x2 (which is 6) and the constant term (which is 5). Thus, pq = 6 * 5 = 30. Since the expressions presented as examples do not directly relate to this problem, we must rely on our understanding of factoring quadratics and look for two values p and q such that their product pq is 30 and their sum is the coefficient b in the original quadratic expression.

User Jason Farnsworth
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