How do you factor #x^2 + 5x + 4#? Algebra Polynomials and Factoring Factoring Completely 1 Answer George C. May 16, 2015 Notice that #5 = 1+4# and #4 = 1*4#, so this can be factored as follows: #x^2+5x+4 = (x+1)(x+4)# This is an instance of a general observation that #(x+a)(x+b) = x^2+(a+b)x+ab# Answer link Related questions What is Factoring Completely? How do you know when you have completely factored a polynomial? Which methods of factoring do you use to factor completely? How do you factor completely #2x^2-8#? Which method do you use to factor #3x(x-1)+4(x-1) #? What are the factors of #12x^3+12x^2+3x#? How do you find the two numbers by using the factoring method, if one number is seven more than... How do you factor #12c^2-75# completely? How do you factor #x^6-26x^3-27#? How do you factor #100x^2+180x+81#? See all questions in Factoring Completely Impact of this question 1259 views around the world You can reuse this answer Creative Commons License