Step 1 :
After factoring out $ 2 $ we have:
$$ 26x^{2}+34x-36 = 2 ( 13x^{2}+17x-18 ) $$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 $\color{blue}{ a = 13 }$ by the constant term $\color{blue}{c = -18} $.
$$ a \cdot c = -234 $$Step 4: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = -234 $ and add to $ b = 17 $.
Step 5: All pairs of numbers with a product of $ -234 $ are:
| PRODUCT = -234 | |
| -1 234 | 1 -234 |
| -2 117 | 2 -117 |
| -3 78 | 3 -78 |
| -6 39 | 6 -39 |
| -9 26 | 9 -26 |
| -13 18 | 13 -18 |
Step 6: Find out which factor pair sums up to $\color{blue}{ b = 17 }$
| PRODUCT = -234 and SUM = 17 | |
| -1 234 | 1 -234 |
| -2 117 | 2 -117 |
| -3 78 | 3 -78 |
| -6 39 | 6 -39 |
| -9 26 | 9 -26 |
| -13 18 | 13 -18 |
Step 7: Replace middle term $ 17 x $ with $ 26x-9x $:
$$ 13x^{2}+17x-18 = 13x^{2}+26x-9x-18 $$Step 8: Apply factoring by grouping. Factor $ 13x $ out of the first two terms and $ -9 $ out of the last two terms.
$$ 13x^{2}+26x-9x-18 = 13x\left(x+2\right) -9\left(x+2\right) = \left(13x-9\right) \left(x+2\right) $$