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 $\color{blue}{ a = 4 }$ by the constant term $\color{blue}{c = -3} $.
$$ a \cdot c = -12 $$Step 3: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = -12 $ and add to $ b = -4 $.
Step 4: All pairs of numbers with a product of $ -12 $ are:
PRODUCT = -12 | |
-1 12 | 1 -12 |
-2 6 | 2 -6 |
-3 4 | 3 -4 |
Step 5: Find out which factor pair sums up to $\color{blue}{ b = -4 }$
PRODUCT = -12 and SUM = -4 | |
-1 12 | 1 -12 |
-2 6 | 2 -6 |
-3 4 | 3 -4 |
Step 6: Replace middle term $ -4 x $ with $ 2x-6x $:
$$ 4x^{2}-4x-3 = 4x^{2}+2x-6x-3 $$Step 7: Apply factoring by grouping. Factor $ 2x $ out of the first two terms and $ -3 $ out of the last two terms.
$$ 4x^{2}+2x-6x-3 = 2x\left(2x+1\right) -3\left(2x+1\right) = \left(2x-3\right) \left(2x+1\right) $$