if the value of c is negative, you would need zero pairs to model the factorization of the polynomial. the x-tiles on the board determine what the constants are in the factors. the product of these constants is equal to the value of c, so you would need positive tiles on one side of the x-squared tile and negative x-tiles on the other side to have opposite signs on the constants. opposite signs on the constants will result in a negative value for c when multiplying the factors.