Question

What are the factors of 1 - x + x^2 -x^3

Answer 1

`-\left(x-1\right)\left(x^2+1\right)`

Explanation:

`1 - x + x^2 -x^3\\\\\mathrm{Factor\:out\:common\:term\:}-1\\\\=-\left(x^3-x^2+x-1\right)\\\\\mathrm{Factor}\:x^3-x^2+x-1:\quad \left(x-1\right)\left(x^2+1\right)\\\\=-\left(x-1\right)\left(x^2+1\right)`