Which of the binomials below is a factor of this trinomial? x2 – 4x – 12 a. x – 6 b. x – 4 c. x – 2 d. x – 3

The answer is A.) x-6

The middle number is -4 and the last number is -12. Factoring means we want something like

(x+_)(x+_)

So which numbers go in the blanks??

We need two numbers that

- Add together to get -4

-Multiply together to get -12

Try 2 and -6:

2+-6 = -4

2*-6 = -12

This checks out!

Fill in the blanks in

(x+_)(x+_)

with 2 and -6 to get...

(x+2)(x-6)

Which means A is the answer :) Hope this helped you!