The last thing you would have written after having solved a polynomial equation whose solutions are 1, -3, 2; would have been: x=1; x=-3; x=2 And just before that you would have had written x-1=0; x+3=0; x-2=0 And just before that you would have had: (x-1)(x+3)(x-2) = 0 And before that you would have had the polynomial f(x) that you were to find the zeros of by setting it equal to zero, and solving. f(x) = (x-1)(x+3)(x-2) That's factored form. Before that it was in general form. If you multiply two of those parentheses, and then take what you get and multiply by the third one, and collect and/or cancel all the like terms you'll end up with this general form: f(x) = x3-7x+6 Edwin