Question

what is the factored form of x^2-x-2

Answer 1

For this case we have:

By definition, the factorization is an algebraic expression that is used to find two or more factors, taking into account that the product of these factors must be equal to the given expression.

That is to say:

Given an expression of the form $x ^ 2 + (a + b) x + ab$

We can factor in the following way:

$(x + a) (x + b)$

Since, its product is: $x ^ 2 + bx + ax + ab = x ^ 2 + (a + b) x + ab$,

checking the given definition.

If we have:

$x ^ 2-x-2$

We can factor:

$(x-2) (x + 1)$

When making your product we obtain:$x ^ 2 + x-2x-2 = x ^ 2-x-2$

Answer:

$(x-2) (x + 1)$