Question

How do you factor the trinomial `x^3 - 18x^2 + 17x`?

Answer 1

x(x - 1)(x - 17)

Explanation:

`f(x) = xy = x(x^2 - 18x + 17)`
Factor y.
Since a + b + c = 0, use shortcut.
- One real root is x = 1 and the factor is (x - 1)
- One factor is `x = c/a = 17`, and the factor is (x - 17)
Factor form of f(x)
f(x) = xy = x(x - 1)(x - 17)