silemus.

30Expanding a binomial times trinomial

Expand (2x−3)(x2+4x−1)\displaystyle (2x - 3)(x^2 + 4x - 1). What is the coefficient of x\displaystyle x?

The expanded form is 2x³ + 5x² − 14x + 3, so the coefficient of x is −14. You get it by distributing 2x and −3 across the trinomial, then combining the x-terms: −2x − 12x = −14x.

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