Question

Factor the trinomial x² - 10x + 16. Give your answer in the form (x - a)(x - b).

a) (x - 8)(x - 2)
b) (x - 4)(x - 6)
c) (x - 7)(x - 9)
d) (x - 5)(x - 5)

Answer 1

To factor the trinomial x² - 10x + 16, we need to find two binomials in the form (x - a) (x - b). The correct answer is (x - 4) (x - 6).

Step-by-step explanation:

To factor the trinomial x² - 10x + 16, we need to find two binomials that when multiplied together, give us the original trinomial. In this case, we're looking for two binomials in the form (x - a) (x - b).

We can find the values of a and b by considering the factors of the constant term (16) and looking for a pair of factors that add up to the coefficient of the middle term (-10).

In this case, the correct answer is option (b) (x - 4) (x - 6), because -4 and -6 are factors of 16 and -4 + -6 = -10.