It seems that $ 7x^{2}-11x+38 $ 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 $\color{blue}{ a = 7 }$ by the constant term $\color{blue}{c = 38} $.
$$ a \cdot c = 266 $$Step 3: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = 266 $ and add to $ b = -11 $.
Step 4: All pairs of numbers with a product of $ 266 $ are:
PRODUCT = 266 | |
1 266 | -1 -266 |
2 133 | -2 -133 |
7 38 | -7 -38 |
14 19 | -14 -19 |
Step 5: Find out which factor pair sums up to $\color{blue}{ b = -11 }$
Step 6: Because none of these pairs will give us a sum of $ \color{blue}{ -11 }$, we conclude the polynomial cannot be factored.