xsquared-4x-5

1 answer

The expression you've provided is a quadratic polynomial:

\[ x^2 - 4x - 5. \]

If you want to factor it, you can look for two numbers that multiply to \(-5\) (the constant term) and add up to \(-4\) (the coefficient of the linear term). The numbers that satisfy this are \(-5\) and \(1\).

So, you can factor the quadratic as follows:

\[ x^2 - 4x - 5 = (x - 5)(x + 1). \]

If you need to find the roots of the equation \(x^2 - 4x - 5 = 0\), you can set the factors equal to zero:

  1. \(x - 5 = 0 \Rightarrow x = 5\)
  2. \(x + 1 = 0 \Rightarrow x = -1\)

Thus, the roots of the equation are \(x = 5\) and \(x = -1\).

If you need help with anything else related to this polynomial, let me know!