Factor completely.

2u2–13u+11

1 answer

To factor the quadratic expression \(2u^2 - 13u + 11\), we can use the method of finding two numbers that multiply to give the product of the leading coefficient (2) and the constant term (11), which is \(2 \cdot 11 = 22\), and add up to the middle coefficient (-13).

We need two numbers that multiply to 22 and add to -13. The numbers that satisfy these conditions are -11 and -2.

Now we can rewrite the middle term (-13u) using these two numbers:

\[ 2u^2 - 11u - 2u + 11 \]

Next, we can group the terms:

\[ (2u^2 - 11u) + (-2u + 11) \]

Factoring by grouping gives us:

\[ u(2u - 11) - 1(2u - 11) \]

Now, we can factor out the common factor \((2u - 11)\):

\[ (2u - 11)(u - 1) \]

Therefore, the complete factorization of \(2u^2 - 13u + 11\) is:

\[ (2u - 11)(u - 1) \]