How do you factor $h(x)= x^3 + 2x^2 - 5x - 6$ ?

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Answer 1 · 2015-10-23T22:47:00

Find $h(-1) = 0$ , then divide $h(x)$ by $(x+1)$ to find the other factors.

First note that $h(-1) = -1+2+5-6=0$ , so $(x+1)$ is a factor of $h(x)$

Divide $h(x)$ by $(x+1)$ using synthetic division:

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So:

$x^3+2x^2-5x-6 = (x+1)(x^2+x-6) = (x+1)(x+3)(x-2)$

How do you factor h(x)= x^3 + 2x^2 - 5x - 6h(x)= x^3 + 2x^2 - 5x - 6?