Question

How do you factor `5x^2 - 9x +8`?

Answer 1

No integer factors

Explanation:

We can check to see if there are any real solutions to this quadratic by plugging into the following formula:

`b^2-4*a*c`

In the quadratic formula, this expression is in a radical (square root). So, if this expression is negative, then we would be taking the square root of a negative number, which is imaginary.

`(-9)^2-4*5*8`
`=81-160`
`=-79`

Thus, there do not exist any real solutions to the quadratic. This means that the quadratic does not have any factors.