How do you factor the trinomial # x^2 - 7x + 12#?
2 Answers
Apr 6, 2018
Here's how I did it:
Explanation:
Two factor a trinomial in form
- Multiply up to
#color(red)acolor(blue)c# - Add up to
#color(magenta)b#
In this question, that means the two numbers must:
- Multiply up to
#(color(red)1)(color(blue)12) = 12# - Add up to
#color(magenta)(-7)#
These two numbers are
So now we put them into factored form:
Hope this helps!
Apr 6, 2018
The factors always multiply to C (12) and add to Bx (7x).
In this case, the answer is (x-4)(x-3) because multiplying two negatives equal a positive and adding two negatives are still negative.