Question

Solve for all values of xx by factoring.
x, squared, minus, 9, x, minus, 20, equals, minus, 2, x, minus, 2
x
2
−9x−20=
−2x−2

Answers

GPT-4o mini
To solve the equation

\[
x^2 - 9x - 20 = -2x - 2,
\]

we first rearrange all terms to one side of the equation:

\[
x^2 - 9x + 2x - 20 + 2 = 0.
\]

Combining like terms, we have:

\[
x^2 - 7x - 18 = 0.
\]

Next, we need to factor the quadratic equation \(x^2 - 7x - 18\). We are looking for two numbers that multiply to \(-18\) (the constant term) and add up to \(-7\) (the coefficient of \(x\)).

The two numbers that satisfy these conditions are \(-9\) and \(2\), since:

\[
-9 \cdot 2 = -18 \quad \text{and} \quad -9 + 2 = -7.
\]

Thus, we can factor the expression as:

\[
(x - 9)(x + 2) = 0.
\]

Setting each factor equal to zero gives us the solutions:

1. \(x - 9 = 0\) leads to \(x = 9\),
2. \(x + 2 = 0\) leads to \(x = -2\).

So, the solutions to the equation \(x^2 - 9x - 20 = -2x - 2\) are:

\[
\boxed{9 \text{ and } -2}.
\]