Question 596725: Factor the expression: x^3 + 2x^2 - 3x - 6
Answer by rapaljer(4671)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! This is called factoring by grouping, since there are 4 terms involved. Group the first two and the last two terms together:
x^3 + 2x^2 - 3x - 6
x^2 (x+2) - 3(x+2)
Now you have a common factor of (x+2). Take out the common factor:
(x+2)(x^2 - 3)
For additional explanation on FACTORING, please see my own website. The easiest way to find it is to use the easy to spell and easy to remember link www.mathinlivingcolor.com. On this single page website, there is a link at the bottom of the page that takes you to my Homepage.
Near the top of my homepage, look for the link "Basic, Intermediate, and College Algebra: One Step at a Time", and choose Basic Algebra (Chapter 2). Look for Section 2.07 Factoring by Grouping. There you will find explanations that may be easier to understand than your traditional textbooks, and many of the exercises from these sections are solved in color on the "MATH IN LIVING COLOR" pages that go with these sections.
There are also VIDEOS of me teaching this topic a few years before I retired. These videos are FREE, and you can see them by looking on my Homepage for the link "Rapalje Videos in Living Color." There is a FACTORING video in both Basic and Intermediate Algebra.
If you like my website, please tell your friends and family. It's all FREE. You can contact me by Email at rapaljer@seminolestate.edu.
Dr. Robert J. Rapalje, Retired
Professor of Mathematics
Seminole State College of Florida
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