#3. Which function is equivalent to the trinomial?

Question

Type your answers to each problem in the table below. The order of the factors doesn't matter, but use parentheses around each one! x^2 + x - 12

Answer 1

To factor the trinomial \( x^2 + x - 12 \), we need to find two numbers that multiply to \(-12\) (the constant term) and add to \(1\) (the coefficient of the linear term).

The numbers that satisfy these conditions are \(4\) and \(-3\) because:

• \(4 \times (-3) = -12\)
• \(4 + (-3) = 1\)

Therefore, we can factor the trinomial as follows:

\[ x^2 + x - 12 = (x + 4)(x - 3) \]

So, the equivalent function is:

\[ (x + 4)(x - 3) \]