It seems that $ 2x^{2}+5x-16 $ cannot be factored out.
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 = -16} $.
$$ a \cdot c = -32 $$Step 3: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = -32 $ and add to $ b = 5 $.
Step 4: All pairs of numbers with a product of $ -32 $ are:
PRODUCT = -32 | |
-1 32 | 1 -32 |
-2 16 | 2 -16 |
-4 8 | 4 -8 |
Step 5: Find out which factor pair sums up to $\color{blue}{ b = 5 }$
Step 6: Because none of these pairs will give us a sum of $ \color{blue}{ 5 }$, we conclude the polynomial cannot be factored.