please help me with complete factoring!

[lyddie32]

hey i need help! just so you know ^ means to the power of

this is my homework problem.
2a^2+48a-50

i need to completely factor that. i know the answer but i dont get how to do it. please help! thnx!
-lyddie32

 

[mmm4444bot]

Do you notice that all of the coefficients are even integers?

A good start is to factor out a 2.

This works out nicely because you end up with a polynomial factor with a leading coefficient of 1. I'm sure that you've already factored those types, right?

Now you simply need to find two numbers A and B such that:

A + B = 24

A * B = -25

Once you find the values for A and B, write the complete factorization:

2 * (a + A) * (a + B)

If you want more help, then show your work or explain what you're thinking if you don't understand something.

 

[lyddie32]

so the next step would be factoring out the 2 so it would be 2(a^2+46a-48)
is that right?

 

[mmm4444bot]

… factoring out the 2 … would be 2(a^2+46a-48)

is that right?

2 * (a^2 + 46a - 48) = 2a^2 + 92a - 96

What do you think about that?