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 = -15} $.
$$ a \cdot c = -60 $$Step 3: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = -60 $ and add to $ b = 4 $.
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 $\color{blue}{ b = 4 }$
| 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 6: Replace middle term $ 4 x $ with $ 10x-6x $:
$$ 4x^{2}+4x-15 = 4x^{2}+10x-6x-15 $$Step 7: Apply factoring by grouping. Factor $ 2x $ out of the first two terms and $ -3 $ out of the last two terms.
$$ 4x^{2}+10x-6x-15 = 2x\left(2x+5\right) -3\left(2x+5\right) = \left(2x-3\right) \left(2x+5\right) $$