Find the constant $p$ such that $x^2 - 5x - 2x + 3x^2 - 11x + p$ is the square of a binomial.
Simplify to
4x^2 -18x Divide out '4' so you can complete the square for 'x'
4 ( x^2 - 4.5x ) Now complete the square
4 ( x- 2.25)^2 - 20 .25 Now you can see that p = - 20.25
Sorry... that should be
4 ( x- 2.25)^2 - 20 .25 + p SO p would need to be + 20.25 Sorry for my error !