How do you factor a perfect square trinomial 16x^2 − 24x − 9?

2 Answers
Jun 14, 2015

This trinomial can't be factored

Explanation:

D = b^2 - 4ac = 576 + 576 = 1152 is not a perfect square. Therefor, this trinomial can't be factored.

Jun 14, 2015

16x^2-24x-9 is not a perfect square trinomial. The sign of the constant term is wrong.

16x^2-24x-9 = (4x-3+3sqrt(2))(4x-3-3sqrt(2))

Explanation:

Perfect square trinomials are of the form:

a^2+-2ab+b^2 = (a+-b)^2

It is still possible to factor 16x^2-24x-9

16x^2-24x-9 = (4x-3+3sqrt(2))(4x-3-3sqrt(2))