1.11: Factorising a Cubic Polynomial

4PM1/1/June/2019 — Question 1 · 4 marks

The function f\displaystyle f is defined by
f(x)=x3+2x25x6.f(x)=x^3+2x^2-5x-6.
(a) Factorise
x2x2.x^2-x-2.
(1)
(b) Hence, or otherwise, show that (x2x2)\displaystyle (x^2-x-2) is a factor of f(x)\displaystyle f(x).
(3)