Factor polynomial $$ 2x^{2}-5x+2 $$

$$ 2x^{2}-5x+2 = ( x-2 )( 2x-1 ) $$

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:

$$ a = 2 , b = -5 ~ \text{ and } ~ c = 2 $$

Step 2: Multiply the leading coefficient $\color{blue}{ a = 2 }$ by the constant term $\color{blue}{c = 2} $.

$$ a \cdot c = 4 $$

Step 3: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = 4 $ and add to $ b = -5 $.

Step 4: All pairs of numbers with a product of $ 4 $ are:

PRODUCT = 4
1     4	-1     -4
2     2	-2     -2

Step 5: Find out which factor pair sums up to $\color{blue}{ b = -5 }$

PRODUCT = 4 and SUM = -5
1     4	-1     -4
2     2	-2     -2

Step 6: Replace middle term $ -5 x $ with $ -x-4x $:

$$ 2x^{2}-5x+2 = 2x^{2}-x-4x+2 $$

Step 7: Apply factoring by grouping. Factor $ x $ out of the first two terms and $ -2 $ out of the last two terms.

$$ 2x^{2}-x-4x+2 = x\left(2x-1\right) -2\left(2x-1\right) = \left(x-2\right) \left(2x-1\right) $$

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