Decide which part of the quadratic formula tells you whether the quadratic equation can be solved by factoring:

a.) −b
b.) b^2 − 4ac
c.) 2a

use the part of the quadratic formula that you chose above and find its value given the following quadratic equation:
2x^2 + 7x + 3 = 0

The part of the quadratic formula that dictates whether the function is factorable or not is B. b^2 - 4ac. This determines the number of real, imaginary, negative and positive roots. 
In the equation 2x^2 + 7x + 3, 
we use the quadratic formula 
x = -b +- sqrt (b2 -4ac) /2a = -7 +- sqrt (49 -24) /4
the answers are x1 =-0.5 and x2 = -3.