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 $\color{blue}{ a = 5 }$ by the constant term $\color{blue}{c = -16} $.
$$ a \cdot c = -80 $$Step 3: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = -80 $ and add to $ b = 38 $.
Step 4: All pairs of numbers with a product of $ -80 $ are:
| PRODUCT = -80 | |
| -1 80 | 1 -80 |
| -2 40 | 2 -40 |
| -4 20 | 4 -20 |
| -5 16 | 5 -16 |
| -8 10 | 8 -10 |
Step 5: Find out which factor pair sums up to $\color{blue}{ b = 38 }$
| PRODUCT = -80 and SUM = 38 | |
| -1 80 | 1 -80 |
| -2 40 | 2 -40 |
| -4 20 | 4 -20 |
| -5 16 | 5 -16 |
| -8 10 | 8 -10 |
Step 6: Replace middle term $ 38 x $ with $ 40x-2x $:
$$ 5x^{2}+38x-16 = 5x^{2}+40x-2x-16 $$Step 7: Apply factoring by grouping. Factor $ 5x $ out of the first two terms and $ -2 $ out of the last two terms.
$$ 5x^{2}+40x-2x-16 = 5x\left(x+8\right) -2\left(x+8\right) = \left(5x-2\right) \left(x+8\right) $$