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 $\color{blue}{ a = 9 }$ by the constant term $\color{blue}{c = 4} $.
$$ a \cdot c = 36 $$Step 3: Find out two numbers that multiply to $ a \cdot c = 36 $ and add to $ b = 15 $.
Step 4: All pairs of numbers with a product of $ 36 $ are:
| PRODUCT = 36 | |
| 1 36 | -1 -36 |
| 2 18 | -2 -18 |
| 3 12 | -3 -12 |
| 4 9 | -4 -9 |
| 6 6 | -6 -6 |
Step 5: Find out which factor pair sums up to $\color{blue}{ b = 15 }$
| PRODUCT = 36 and SUM = 15 | |
| 1 36 | -1 -36 |
| 2 18 | -2 -18 |
| 3 12 | -3 -12 |
| 4 9 | -4 -9 |
| 6 6 | -6 -6 |
Step 6: Replace middle term $ 15 x $ with $ 12x+3x $:
$$ 9x^{2}+15x+4 = 9x^{2}+12x+3x+4 $$Step 7: Apply factoring by grouping. Factor $ 3x $ out of the first two terms and $ 1 $ out of the last two terms.
$$ 9x^{2}+12x+3x+4 = 3x\left(3x+4\right) + 1\left(3x+4\right) = \left(3x+1\right) \left(3x+4\right) $$