Problema Solution
Megan factored the expression 27x^2-51x-6 as (9x-1)(3x-6).But when Jacob applied the FOIL principle and multiplied out(9x-1)(3x+6),he got 27x^2-57x-6;thus, Megan’s solution does not appear to check. Why is that? Please help Megan to understand this better. Explain your reasoning and correctly factor the original expression, if possible. If the expression is prime, so state.
Answer provided by our tutors
27x^2-51x-6
= 27x^2 - 54x + 3x - 6
= 27x(x - 2) + 3(x - 2)
= (x - 2)(27x + 3)
=3(x - 2)(9x + 1)
= (3x - 6) (9x + 1)