How do you factor x2 plus 5x plus 6?

Answer 1

This can be done by finding two terms that add to make five, and multiply to make six. You can then use those to break the equation down further.

So first, take every combination that multiplies to make six:

1 × 6

2 × 3

-1 × -6

-2 × -3

and find the sums of each of those pairs of numbers:

1 + 6 = 7

2 + 3 = 5

-1 - 6 = -7

-2 - 3 = -5

As you can see, the only pair of numbers there that add up to five are two and three. this tells us that the factors are (x + 2) and (x + 3).