How do you factor with the diamond method?

Question

im doing my review homework for geometry and i forgot how to factor.

Answer 1

In the diamond method, you are given (visualize) two of the four values. The two values you are given are 1) the sum of two unknown numbers and 2) the product of those same two unknown numbers. The challenge is to find two numbers which multiple to "1)" and add up to "2)".

For instance, if your given numbers are: product = -6 and sum = 1 then you need to figure out that the two unknown values are 2 & -3.

To see how this helps you factor, the example above looks like this:

x^2 -6x +1 = (x - (2))(x - (-3)) = (x-2)(x+3).