Question 633623
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.