Question 5073
This quadratic equation can be solved by factoring.

x^2 - 2x - 3 = 0  Look for two integers whose product is -3 and whose sum is -2

Some possibilities:  Since the product is negative, the two integers will have opposite signs (+, -) and since the sum is also negative, the larger (absolute value-wise) of the two integers will be negative.

1 X -3 = -3 and 1 + (-3) = -2 Bingo!

So the two integers are: 1 and -3

The factors of this quadratic equation are:
 (x + 1)(x - 3) = 0  Apply the zero products principle:
x + 1 = 0; x = -1
x - 3 = 0; x = 3

The verification is left as an exercise for the student.