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 $\color{blue}{ a = 4 }$ by the constant term $\color{blue}{c = -35} $.
$$ a \cdot c = -140 $$Step 3: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = -140 $ and add to $ b = 23 $.
Step 4: All pairs of numbers with a product of $ -140 $ are:
| PRODUCT = -140 | |
| -1 140 | 1 -140 |
| -2 70 | 2 -70 |
| -4 35 | 4 -35 |
| -5 28 | 5 -28 |
| -7 20 | 7 -20 |
| -10 14 | 10 -14 |
Step 5: Find out which factor pair sums up to $\color{blue}{ b = 23 }$
| PRODUCT = -140 and SUM = 23 | |
| -1 140 | 1 -140 |
| -2 70 | 2 -70 |
| -4 35 | 4 -35 |
| -5 28 | 5 -28 |
| -7 20 | 7 -20 |
| -10 14 | 10 -14 |
Step 6: Replace middle term $ 23 x $ with $ 28x-5x $:
$$ 4x^{2}+23x-35 = 4x^{2}+28x-5x-35 $$Step 7: Apply factoring by grouping. Factor $ 4x $ out of the first two terms and $ -5 $ out of the last two terms.
$$ 4x^{2}+28x-5x-35 = 4x\left(x+7\right) -5\left(x+7\right) = \left(4x-5\right) \left(x+7\right) $$