Negative Leading Coefficient

Property When the leading coefficient of a trinomial is negative, it is standard practice to factor out a $ 1$ along with any other common factors. Explanation Nobody likes starting a problem with a negative attitude! If your polynomial's first term is grumpy and negative, factor out a $ 1$ to flip all the signs inside the parentheses. This makes the new leading term positive and cheerful, which makes finding your factor pairs so much simpler. It's a quick trick to turn a frown upside down! Examples $ x^2 + 2x + 48 = 1(x^2 2x 48) = (x + 6)(x 8)$ $ 2x^3 10x^2 + 48x = 2x(x^2 + 5x 24) = 2x(x + 8)(x 3)$.