Example
Completion requirements
Example 2
Write 
in factored form.
Step 1: Identify the greatest common factor of all three terms.
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There are no common factors.
Step 2: Factor .
Determine two numbers whose product is −72 and that sum to 1. The two numbers that work are −8 and 9. Decompose the middle term using coefficients of −8 and 9; group the terms and then factor.
The factored form of is 
.