how to factor completley?

Question

Factor the polynomial completely.

 

x²−144

Answer 1

When approaching factorization, ask yourself, "What two numbers multiply to give me the last number (in this case -144) and add to give me the middle number?" In this instance there is no middle number. But we know that -12 * 12 will give us -144. So:

 

(x+12)(x-12)