Step 1: Identify constants $ a $ , $ b $ and $ c $.
$ a $ is a number in front of the $ x^2 $ term $ b $ is a number in front of the $ x $ term and $ c $ is a constant. In this case:
Step 2: Multiply the leading coefficient $\color{blue}{ a = 15 }$ by the constant term $\color{blue}{c = -2} $.
$$ a \cdot c = -30 $$Step 3: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = -30 $ and add to $ b = -1 $.
Step 4: All pairs of numbers with a product of $ -30 $ are:
PRODUCT = -30 | |
-1 30 | 1 -30 |
-2 15 | 2 -15 |
-3 10 | 3 -10 |
-5 6 | 5 -6 |
Step 5: Find out which factor pair sums up to $\color{blue}{ b = -1 }$
PRODUCT = -30 and SUM = -1 | |
-1 30 | 1 -30 |
-2 15 | 2 -15 |
-3 10 | 3 -10 |
-5 6 | 5 -6 |
Step 6: Replace middle term $ -1 x $ with $ 5x-6x $:
$$ 15x^{2}-x-2 = 15x^{2}+5x-6x-2 $$Step 7: Apply factoring by grouping. Factor $ 5x $ out of the first two terms and $ -2 $ out of the last two terms.
$$ 15x^{2}+5x-6x-2 = 5x\left(3x+1\right) -2\left(3x+1\right) = \left(5x-2\right) \left(3x+1\right) $$