SOLUTION: I haven't been in school for over 30 years. I am studying the compass test but find that I am having some difficulty remembering algebra. for example : which of the following is a

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Question 633623: I haven't been in school for over 30 years. I am studying the compass test but find that I am having some difficulty remembering algebra. for example : which of the following is a factor of x^2 -5x -6. I'm not clear on the x. What do you do to find what x is? Thanks. If i can get an understanding of that it might help me.
Found 3 solutions by stanbon, richwmiller, Alan3354:
Answer by stanbon(75887) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
which of the following is a factor of x^2 -5x -6
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Factored Form:
= (x-6)(x+1)
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Cheers,
Stan H.

Answer by richwmiller(17219) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
You are funny.

Answer by Alan3354(69443) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
which of the following is a factor of x^2 -5x -6. I'm not clear on the x. What do you do to find what x is?
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x^2 -5x -6
Look for two factors of 6. It's either 1*6 or 2*3, those two possibilities.
The signs are different, since it's -6.
And, the difference is 5, since it's 5x.
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Only 1 & 6 differ by 5.
--> (x + 1)*(x - 6)
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That's all there is to do. You can't solve for x, it's not an equation.