Question

Simon is factoring the polynomial.

x2 – 4x – 12
(x – 6)(x + ___)

What value should Simon write on the line?

Answer 1

Hence, the value that Simon should write on the line i.e. in the blank space is: 2

( Since,
`x^2-4x-12=(x+2)(x-6)` )

Explanation:

We are asked to fill in the blank with the value obtained on factoring the polynomial:

`x^2-4x-12`

on sing the method of splitting the middle term we will factor our polynomial as follows:

`x^2-4x-12=x^2-6x+2x-12\\\\x^2-4x-12=x(x-6)+2(x-6)\\\\x^2-4x-12=(x+2)(x-6)`

Hence, the value that Simon should write on the line i.e. in the blank space is: 2

( Since,
`x^2-4x-12=(x+2)(x-6)` )

Answer 2

If you would like to know what value should Simon write on the line, you can calculate this using the following step:

x^2 - 4 * x - 12 = (x - 6) * (x + 2)

The correct result would be 2.