Question

Factor the expression by grouping terms

$x^3+4x^2+x+4$

Short answer

The solution$x^3+4x^2+x+4=\left(x^2+1\right)\left(x+4\right)$

Step-by-step solution

Step 1. Apply the concept of distributive property.

If A, B and C are real numbers, then

$A\left(B+C\right)=\left(B+C\right)A=AB+AC$

Step 2. Analyze the expression.

Given$x^3+4x^2+x+4$

Let us consider first two terms,$x^3,4x^2$

1,4 have greatest common factor 1

$x^3,x^2$have greatest common factor$x^2$

So, the greatest common factor of the two terms is$x^2$

Step 3. Factor the polynomial.

Now, using the distributive property the polynomial can be factored as:

$\begin{array}{l}{x}^3+4x^2+x+4=\left(x^3+4x^2\right)+x+4\\ \Rightarrow x^3+4x^2+x+4=x^2\left(x+4\right)+x+4\\ \Rightarrow x^3+4x^2+x+4=\left(x^2+1\right)\left(x+4\right)\end{array}$