How do I factorise x^2 - 5x + 6

You want to express this expression in the form (x+a)(x+b) to do this you want to find two numbers that add to make -5 (the coefficient of x) and multiply to make 6. Let's first focus on numbers that multiply to make 6. There are four possible pairs of whole number factors.1 and 6.2 and 3.-1 and -6.-2 and -3.We want a pair that add together to make -5. Looking at these numbers we can see that -2 + -3 = -5 which is what we want.So factorised the equation is (x-2)(x-3)

Answered by Samuel W. Maths tutor

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