Factoring Trinomials Using the ac method

or the PRODUCT-SUM METHOD

Some students have difficulty factoring a trinomial of the form

𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 using ‘trial-and-error’ or ‘guessing’. There is a method that works
better and will also identify if the trinomial cannot be factored (is prime). This
document explain the method, called either the ac method or the product-sum
method, and gives several examples.

If the trinomial is of the form 𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑐 + 𝑐 (leading coefficient is 1)…

1) Find two integers whose product is c and whose sum is b.
2) Let’s call the two integers r and s.
3) One factor is (𝑥 + 𝑟) and the other factor is (𝑥 + 𝑠).

Ex 1: Factor x2  16 x  55 Find two integers whose product is c =55. The pairs are listed in the table
at the right.
1 55 -1 -55
5 11 -5 -11
Select the pair that has a sum of b = 16. That pair is 5 and 11. Therefore the factors are…
x2  16 x  55  ( x  5)( x  11)

Ex 2: Factor x2  16 x  60 Find two integers whose product is 𝑐 = 60. The pairs are listed in the
table at the right.
1 60 -1 -60
2 30 -2 -30
3 20 -3 -20
4 15 -4 -15
5 12 -5 -12
6 10 -6 -10

Select the pair that has a sum of 𝑏 = −16. That pair is −6 𝑎𝑛𝑑 − 10. Therefore the factors are…
𝑥 2 − 16𝑥 + 60 = (𝑥 − 6)(𝑥 − 10)

Ex 3: Factor a 2  7a  18 Find two integers whose product is 𝑐 = −18. The pairs are listed in the
table at the right.
1 -18 -1 18
2 -9 -2 9
3 -6 -3 6
Select the pair that has a sum of 𝑏 = 7. That pair is 9 and −2. Therefore the factors are…
a 2  7a  18  (a  9)(a  2)

(continued on the next page)

Ex 4: Factor y 2  10 y  39 Find two integers whose product is 𝑐 = −39. The pairs are listed in the
table at the right.
1 -39 -1 39
3 -13 -3 13
Select the pair that has a sum of 𝑏 = −10. That pair is 3 𝑎𝑛𝑑 − 13. Therefore the factors are…
y 2  10 y  39  ( y  13)( y  3)

If the trinomial is of the form 𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐, there is a little extra effort to find the
factors using this method. Here are the steps.
1) Find two integers whose product is ac and whose sum is b.
2) Let’s call the two integers r and s.
3) Rewrite the trinomial as a 4 term polynomial as below.
ax2  rx  sx  c
4) Use ‘grouping by pairs’ to factor. Take the GCF out of the first two
terms and out of the second two terms and get a common parentheses.
See the steps in the following examples.
Ex 5: Factor 2n2  n  10 Find two integers whose product is 𝑎𝑐 = (2)(−10) = −20. The pairs are
listed in the table at the right.
1 -20 -1 20
2 -10 -2 10
4 -5 -4 5
Select the pair that has a sum of 𝑏 = 1. That pair is −4 𝑎𝑛𝑑 5.
Rewrite the trinomial as follows.
2n 2  n  10
 2n 2  4n5n  10 Take out the GCF from each pair.
 2n(n  2)  5(n  2)
 (n  2)(2n  5)

Ex 6: Factor 6𝑥 2 − 17𝑥 + 12 Find two integers whose product is 𝑎𝑐 = (6)(12) = 72. The pairs
are listed in the table at the right.
1 72 -1 -72
2 36 -2 -36
3 24 -3 -24
4 18 -4 -18
6 12 -6 -18
8 9 -8 -9
Select the pair that has a sum of 𝑏 = −17. That pair is −8 𝑎𝑛𝑑 − 9.
Rewrite the trinomial as follows.
6 x 2  17 x  12
 6 x 2  8 x 9 x  12
 2 x(3x  4)  3(3x  4)
 (3x  4)(2 x  3)
Ex 7: Factor 4𝑎2 + 27𝑎 − 40 Find two integers whose product is 𝑎𝑐 = (4)(−40) = −160. The pairs
are listed in the table at the right.
1 -160 -1 160
2 -80 -2 80
4 -40 -4 40
5 -32 -5 32
8 -20 -8 20
10 -16 -10 26
Select the pair that has a sum of 𝑏 = 27. That pair is −5 𝑎𝑛𝑑 32.
Rewrite the trinomial as follows.
4a 2  27a  40
 4a 2  5a 32a  40
 a(4a  5)  8(4a  5)
 (4a  5)(a  8)

Ex 8: Factor 16𝑦 2 + 30𝑦 + 9 Find two integers whose product is 𝑎𝑐 = (16)(9) = 144. The pairs are
listed in the table at the right.
1 144 -1 -144
2 72 -2 -72
3 48 -4 -48
4 36 -4 -36
6 24 -6 -24
9 16 -9 -16
12 12 -12 -12
Select the pair that has a sum of 𝑏 = 30. That pair is 6 and 24.
Rewrite the trinomial as follows.
16 y 2  30 y  9
 16 y 2  6 y  24 y  9
 2 y (8 y  3)  3(8 y  3)
 (8 y  3)(2 y  3)

Ex 9: Factor 100𝑐 2 − 140𝑐𝑑 + 49𝑑2 Find two integers whose product is 𝑎𝑐 = (100)(49) = 4900. The
pairs are listed in the table at the right.

Select the pair that has a sum of 𝑏 = −140. The pair is -70 and 1 4900 -1 -4900
-70. Rewrite the trinomial as follows. 2 2450 -2 -2450
4 1225 -4 -1225
100c 2  140cd  49d 2 5 980 -5 -980
7 700 -7 -700
 100c 2  70cd 70cd  49d 2
10 490 -10 -490
 10c(10c  7d )  7 d (10c  7 d ) 14 350 -14 -350
 (10c  7d )(10c  7d ) or (10c  7d ) 2 20 245 -20 -245
25 196 -25 -196
28 175 -28 -175
35 140 -35 -140
49 100 -49 -100
50 98 -50 -98
70 70 -70 -70