Please help. Factor the polynomial function over the complex fraction. f(x) = x^3+2x^2+5x+10 What I got so far; (x+2)(x^2+5) but I need to factor x^2+5 into a complex factor.

Question

asked Jan 3, 2019 63.2k views

1 Answer

Latishia · Answer 1 · 2019-01-07T11:46:29+0000

Answer:

(x + 2)(x + i√(5))(x - i√(5))

Explanation:

You are correct so far.

This is how you factor the binomial x^2 + 5 using complex factors.

x^2 + 5 =

= x^2 - (-5)

Now factor as a difference of squares: a^2 - b^2 = (a + b)(a - b).

= (x + √(-5))(x - √(-5))

= (x + i√(5))(x - i√(5))