How do you factor $5a^2 + 3 ab - 8b^2$ ?

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Answer 1 · 2015-06-15T06:24:09

$5a^2+3ab-8b^2 = (a-b)(5a+8b)$

Notice that the sum of the coefficients is zero:

$5+3-8 = 0$

So $(a-b)$ is a factor.

The other factor must be $(5a+8b)$ to result in the required coefficients of $a^2$ and $b^2$ .

How do you factor 5a^2 + 3 ab - 8b^25a^2 + 3 ab - 8b^2?