I have to factor this completly. I am to show all stages of factoring separatly, such as show the results of factoring out the GCF before taking the resulting polynomial and factoring it again, it is confusing me. Could someone please guide me.. thanks
X^3 - 2x^2 + 6x - 12
2007-04-30 03:21:52 · 4 answers · asked by swtsabre 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
To factor a cubic expression, you first try factors of the final number to see whether any make the expression zero. If you try x = 2 you find that it does. This shows that (x - 2) is a factor. Dividing by this you get
x^3 - 2x^2 + 6x - 12 = (x - 2)(x^2 + 6)
That is as far as you can go; the (x^2 + 6) does not factorise.
2007-04-30 03:47:19 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
x^3 - 2x^2 + 6x - 12
= x^2 (x - 2) + 6(x - 2)
= (x^2 + 6) * (x - 2)
2007-04-30 10:54:11 · answer #2 · answered by Tim M 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
using synthetic division to divide by (x - 2):-
2 | 1--- - 2----- 6----- - 12
-- | ---- --2- --- 0------ 12
---1------0------6---------0 = remainder
This means that factors are:-
(x - 2).(x² + 6)
2007-04-30 14:16:06 · answer #3 · answered by Como 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think the answer is 6
2007-04-30 10:28:03 · answer #4 · answered by murphyslaw 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋