how do i do this

Question

2x²-6x

 

Answer 1

When you factor you're looking for the numbers or variables that are factors of both terms

 

In 2x²-6x, both terms (2x² and 6x) have x as a factor, so you can factor them out so it looks like this

 

x(2x-6)

 

Now the remaining terms (2x and 6) also have 2 as a factor, so you can factor that out too so it looks like this:

 

2x(x-3)

 

As a check, you can use the distributive property to multiply what you factored out to see if you get the original equation:

 

2x * x = 2x²

2x * -3 = -6x

 

2x²-6x, which is the original equation