Question

question
factor.
$x^2 - 8x - 20$

Explanation:

Step1: Find two numbers

We need two numbers that multiply to \(-20\) and add up to \(-8\). Let's list the factor pairs of \(-20\): \((-10, 2)\) because \(-10\times2 = -20\) and \(-10 + 2=-8\).

Step2: Factor the quadratic

Using the numbers we found, we can factor \(x^{2}-8x - 20\) as \((x - 10)(x + 2)\) since when we expand \((x - 10)(x + 2)\), we get \(x^{2}+2x-10x - 20=x^{2}-8x - 20\).

Answer:

\((x - 10)(x + 2)\)