Question

10/22
what is the first step in factoring this problem?
$x^2 + x - 6$
add the factors of -6
factor out the gcf
multiply
list the factors of -6

Explanation:

For factoring the quadratic trinomial $x^2 + x - 6$, the standard first step is to identify the greatest common factor (GCF) of all terms. The terms $x^2$, $x$, and $-6$ have no common factor other than 1, but this is still the required initial step in the factoring process for any polynomial.

Answer:

Factor out the GCF