Step 1 :
After factoring out $ 2 $ we have:
$$ 4x^{2}-10x+4 = 2 ( 2x^{2}-5x+2 ) $$Step 2 :
Step 2: 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 3: Multiply the leading coefficient $\color{blue}{ a = 2 }$ by the constant term $\color{blue}{c = 2} $.
$$ a \cdot c = 4 $$Step 4: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = 4 $ and add to $ b = -5 $.
Step 5: All pairs of numbers with a product of $ 4 $ are:
PRODUCT = 4 | |
1 4 | -1 -4 |
2 2 | -2 -2 |
Step 6: 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 7: Replace middle term $ -5 x $ with $ -x-4x $:
$$ 2x^{2}-5x+2 = 2x^{2}-x-4x+2 $$Step 8: Apply factoring by grouping. Factor $ x $ out of the first two terms and $ -2 $ out of the last two terms.
$$ 2x^{2}-x-4x+2 = x\left(2x-1\right) -2\left(2x-1\right) = \left(x-2\right) \left(2x-1\right) $$