Question

Whats the answer to this

product = -5
sum = -6
maybe they made a mistake on the worksheet or im just dumb but HELPPP

Answer 1

They're asking you to find two numbers that multiply to -5 and add to -6 at the same time

Here are all the ways to write a product of -5

-1*5 = -5

1*(-5) = -5

The list is short because 5 is prime, so 5 = 1*5. The negative just moves from one term to the next (from 1 to 5)

As you can see, adding up these factors leads to

-1+5 = 4

1 + (-5) = -4

Neither of which are -6 like we want

So there is either a mistake in the worksheet, or the polynomial can't be factored. If a polynomial can't be factored, then we consider it to be a prime polynomial.