Easy medal !
given the trinomial, what is the value of the coefficient 'b' in the factored form?
2x2 - 12xy - 32y2 = 2(x - 8y)(x + by)
b=
numerical answers expected! ,

Let's start with the given polynomial:
2x² - 12xy - 32y²

As a first step, we want to regroup 2:
= 2(x² - 6xy - 16y²)

Now, we want to re-write the term -6xy in order to be able to perform a partial factoring. In this case, we can write:
-6xy = -8xy + 2xy
Therefore, the polynomial becomes:
= 2(x² - 8xy + 2xy - 16y²)

Now we factorize x within the first two terms and 2y within the last two:
= 2[x(x - 8y) + 2y(x - 8y)]

We can now regroup the common term:
=2(x - 8y)(x + 2y)

Your answer is hence B = 2