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Factor the trinomial. p2 - 4p - 5
What is the a, b and c?

User Martimatix
by
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1 Answer

6 votes

Answer:

(p - 5)(p + 1)

Explanation:

Given

p² - 4p - 5

Consider the factors of the constant term (- 5) which sum to give the coefficient of the x- term (- 4)

The factors are - 5 and + 1 , since

- 5 × + 1 = - 5 and - 5 + 1 = - 4, then

p² - 4p - 5 = (p - 5)(p + 1) ← in factored form

The standard form of a trinomial is

ax² + bx + c ( a ≠ 0 )

p² - 4p - 5 ← is in standard form

with a = 1, b = - 4 and c = - 5

User Boutta
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