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| Question 470046:  Find all solutions, real or complex, to the following equation
 
   Answer by Edwin McCravy(20064)
      (Show Source): 
You can put this solution on YOUR website! 
  x³-4x²-9x+36
You called that an equation, but there is no equal sign, so
it isn't an equation.  Was it supposed to have = 0 after it
like this?:
  x³-4x²-9x+36 = 0
Then it would have been an equation to solve.  But if it
is only
  x³-4x²-9x+36
then we can only factor it, not solve it.  
First I will assume there was no = 0 after it and the 
instructions were not to solve the equation but to 
factor the expression
Factor the first two terms x³-4x² by taking out the
greatest common factor, x², getting x²(x-4)
Factor the last two terms -9x+36 by taking out the
greatest common factor, getting -9(x-4)
So we have
x²(x-4)-9(x-4)
Notice that there is a common factor, (x-4)
x²(x-4)-9(x-4)
which we can factor out leaving the x² and the -9 to put 
in parentheses:
(x-4)(x²-9)
Notice that the (x²-9) is the difference of two perfect squares
So the final factorization is
(x-4)(x-3)(x+3)
That's the final answer if the instructions were "factor the 
expression".
However if it was an equation as you stated and there was an equal 
sign and a 0 after it, like this:
(x-4)(x-3)(x+3) = 0
then we use the zero factor principle:
x-4=0   x-3=0   x+3=0
  x=4     x=3     x=-3
Then there are three solutions to the equation, and
they are 4,3,and -3.
Edwin
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