The polynomial in its standard form is:
\(ax ^ 2 + bx + c
\)
The student's first step is:
\(-c = ax ^ 2 + bx
\)
The student's second step is:
\(-c = a (x ^ 2 + (\frac{b}{a}) x)
\)
The student's second step is to factor the remaining binomial on the right side of the equation.
In this case, the student made a common factor of the letter a.
Answer:
The sentence that best explains or justifies Step 2 is:
factoring the binomial
