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How do you factor a trinomial with a fraction
for example I am currently struggling with the equation:

x^2 + 11x + 121/4

and I have no clue where to start

Sagot :

Answer:

[tex]\frac{1}{4}[/tex] (2x + 11)²

Step-by-step explanation:

given

x²+ 11x + [tex]\frac{121}{4}[/tex]

Convert the coefficients of the x²- term and the x- term to fractions with denominator of 4, that is

1 = [tex]\frac{4}{4}[/tex] and 11 = [tex]\frac{44}{4}[/tex]

Rewrite the expression as

[tex]\frac{4}{4}[/tex] x² + [tex]\frac{44}{4}[/tex] x + [tex]\frac{121}{4}[/tex] ← factor out [tex]\frac{1}{4}[/tex] from each term

= [tex]\frac{1}{4}[/tex] (4x² + 44x + 121 )

factorise 4x² + 44x + 121

Rewrite 4x² as (2x)² and 121 as 11²

= (2x)² + 44x + 11²

Consider the perfect square trinomial

a² + 2ab + b² = (a + b)²

Now check that the middle term 44x is two times the product of the numbers being squared in the first and third terms

2 × 2x × 11 = 44x

Then with a = 2x and b = 11

4x² + 44x + 121 = (2x + 11)²

Finally

x² + 11x + [tex]\frac{121}{4}[/tex] = [tex]\frac{1}{4}[/tex] (2x + 11)²