Question

The first step in the process for factoring the trinomial x^2 -3x - 40 is to: A. List all the factors of the threeB. find the sum of the factors of threeC. List all the factors of 40D. find the sum of the factors of 40

Answer 1

The given trinomial is:

`x^2-3x-40`

It is required to choose the first step in the process of factoring the trinomial.

Recall that the first step in the process of factoring all trinomials is to list all the factors of the whole number in the constant term.

Hence, the first step for the given trinomial is to list all the factors of 40.

Option C is the answer.