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 $\color{blue}{ a = 2 }$ by the constant term $\color{blue}{c = -11} $.
$$ a \cdot c = -22 $$Step 3: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = -22 $ and add to $ b = -21 $.
Step 4: All pairs of numbers with a product of $ -22 $ are:
PRODUCT = -22 | |
-1 22 | 1 -22 |
-2 11 | 2 -11 |
Step 5: Find out which factor pair sums up to $\color{blue}{ b = -21 }$
PRODUCT = -22 and SUM = -21 | |
-1 22 | 1 -22 |
-2 11 | 2 -11 |
Step 6: Replace middle term $ -21 x $ with $ x-22x $:
$$ 2x^{2}-21x-11 = 2x^{2}+x-22x-11 $$Step 7: Apply factoring by grouping. Factor $ x $ out of the first two terms and $ -11 $ out of the last two terms.
$$ 2x^{2}+x-22x-11 = x\left(2x+1\right) -11\left(2x+1\right) = \left(x-11\right) \left(2x+1\right) $$