Factoring 6x^3-6=?

Question

I have no clue how to do this problem and I have a math on Tuesday. My teacher is awful.

Answer 1

6x^3 -6 factors in two painless steps

 

first whenever we are going to factor always look for a common factor. we can factor out a 6, so we have

 

6(x^3 -1)

 

the next step actually has a little pain involved...you have to memorize a^3 -b^3= (a-b)(a^2 + 2ab +b^2)

 

Here a=x and b=1

 

so x^3 -1 turns into (x-1)(x^2 +2x+1)

 

remember we took out the 6 so our final answer is

6(x-1)(x^2 +2x+1)

 

If you have any more questions please call me

Sean Budge

[phone]

(any tutoring MUST be through WyzAnt)

Answer 2

6x³-6 = 6(x³-1) = 6(x-1)(x²+x+1)

Answer 3

Another option is to use the cubic formula (like the quadratic formula, but for cases where you have a third degree polynomial like this one).

Google "cubic formula" and you'll find a lot of examples.

Good luck with your test!