Question

How do you factor completely `3x^2+6x-24`?

Answer 1

`3x^2+6x-24 = 3(x+4)(x-2)`

Explanation:

Note that all of the terms are divisible by `3`, so we can separate that out as a factor first, then note that `8` is the product of `4` and `2`, which differ by `2`, so we find:

`3x^2+6x-24 = 3(x^2+2x-8) = 3(x+4)(x-2)`