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How To Factor Expressions With Negative Numbers

Education : Maths

Some people get really confused when asked to factorise something like this:
x^2 - 4x - 12

But all you need to remember is that the factor pairs will be ONE positive and ONE negative number here:

the numbers will multiply to give - 12 and add to give - 4

This you can see -6 and 2 are the answer, as -6 x 2 = - 12 and 6 - (- 2) = -4

so, (x - 6)(x + 2) is the answer


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By: Chris

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