Step 1 :
After factoring out $ -1 $ we have:
$$ -4x^{2}+4x+15 = - ~ ( 4x^{2}-4x-15 ) $$Step 2 :
Step 2: 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 3: Multiply the leading coefficient $\color{blue}{ a = 4 }$ by the constant term $\color{blue}{c = -15} $.
$$ a \cdot c = -60 $$Step 4: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = -60 $ and add to $ b = -4 $.
Step 5: All pairs of numbers with a product of $ -60 $ are:
| PRODUCT = -60 | |
| -1 60 | 1 -60 |
| -2 30 | 2 -30 |
| -3 20 | 3 -20 |
| -4 15 | 4 -15 |
| -5 12 | 5 -12 |
| -6 10 | 6 -10 |
Step 6: Find out which factor pair sums up to $\color{blue}{ b = -4 }$
| PRODUCT = -60 and SUM = -4 | |
| -1 60 | 1 -60 |
| -2 30 | 2 -30 |
| -3 20 | 3 -20 |
| -4 15 | 4 -15 |
| -5 12 | 5 -12 |
| -6 10 | 6 -10 |
Step 7: Replace middle term $ -4 x $ with $ 6x-10x $:
$$ 4x^{2}-4x-15 = 4x^{2}+6x-10x-15 $$Step 8: Apply factoring by grouping. Factor $ 2x $ out of the first two terms and $ -5 $ out of the last two terms.
$$ 4x^{2}+6x-10x-15 = 2x\left(2x+3\right) -5\left(2x+3\right) = \left(2x-5\right) \left(2x+3\right) $$