1) Factoring Quadratics With Undefined C Fill in the blanks by finding the largest and smallest integers that will make the quadratic expression factorable. Explain your reasoning and show your working
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To factor a quadratic expression of the form \( ax^2 + bx + c \) where \( c \) is undefined, we can set \( c \) to some integer values. The expression is factorable if the discriminant \( b^2 - 4ac \) is a perfect square. Let's say \( a = 1 \) and \( b = k \) (where \( k \) is an integer). We need to find values for \( c \) such that \( k^2 - 4c \) is a perfect square \( m^2 \). 1. **Largest Integer**: If we let \( k = 0 \), then the equation becomes \( -4c = m^2 \). As \( m^2 \) can only be non-negative, we find: \( c \) must be less than or equal to 0. The largest integer we can take here is \( c = 0 \). 2. **Smallest Integer**: If we set \( c \) to a high negative value, for instance, \( c = -1 \), then our equation for \( k = 0 \) turns into \( -4(-1) = 4 \), which is \( m^2 \). But if we delve further, as \( c \) becomes more negative, the perfect square condition still holds. Thus, we conclude that c can potentially reach \( c = -\infty \) but we conventionally stop at integers, so for finite comparison, the smallest could be \( c = -1 \). Therefore, the largest value of \( c \) is \( 0 \) and the smallest could be \( -1 \). This showcases how c influences the factorability of quadratics! Keep those integers in check!