Step 1: 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 2: Multiply the leading coefficient $\color{blue}{ a = 2 }$ by the constant term $\color{blue}{c = -30} $.
$$ a \cdot c = -60 $$Step 3: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = -60 $ and add to $ b = 17 $.
Step 4: 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 5: Find out which factor pair sums up to $\color{blue}{ b = 17 }$
| PRODUCT = -60 and SUM = 17 | |
| -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: Replace middle term $ 17 x $ with $ 20x-3x $:
$$ 2x^{2}+17x-30 = 2x^{2}+20x-3x-30 $$Step 7: Apply factoring by grouping. Factor $ 2x $ out of the first two terms and $ -3 $ out of the last two terms.
$$ 2x^{2}+20x-3x-30 = 2x\left(x+10\right) -3\left(x+10\right) = \left(2x-3\right) \left(x+10\right) $$