How do you factor #x^3+x^2-5x+3#?

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Answer 1 · 2015-05-30T12:56:52

First notice that #x=1# is a solution of #x^3+x^2-5x+3=0#

So #(x-1)# is a factor.

Let's use synthetic division to find.

#x^3+x^2-5x+3=(x-1)(x^2+2x-3)#

Notice that #x=1# is a root of #x^2+2x-3=0#

So there's another factor #(x-1)#

#x^3+x^2-5x+3 = (x-1)(x-1)(x+3)#