Question

What is a factor for this polynomial `p(x) = 12x^4 + 13x^3 - 35x^2 - 16x +20` ?

Answer 1

A factor is `(x+1)`

Explanation:

You can do this by trial and error starting at `x=+-1`
`p(1)=12+13-35-16+20=-6` so `(x-1)` is not a factor
`p(-1)=12-13-35+16+20=0` so `(x+1)` is a factor