How do you factor the expression $x^2 + 4x - 12$ ?

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Answer 1 · 2018-07-22T20:06:05

$(x-2)(x+6)$

Let's do a little thought experiment:

What two numbers sum up to $4$ and have a product of $-12$ ?

After some trial and error, we arrive at $-2$ and $6$ . This allows us to factor this as

$(x-2)(x+6)$

Hope this helps!

Answer 2 · 2018-07-23T11:04:18

$(x+6)*(x-2)$

$x^2+4x-12$

= $x^2+4x+4-16$

= $(x+2)^2-4^2$

= $(x+2+4)*(x+2-4)$

= $(x+6)*(x-2)$

How do you factor the expression x^2 + 4x - 12x^2 + 4x - 12?