The first thing would be to start with an equation that is already factored: (x + 3) * (x - 2) Then we multiply it: x^2 +x -6 = 0 a = 1 b = 1 c = -6 We can solve that with the quadratic formula: x = [-b +- sq root (b^2 - 4*a*c)] / 2*a x = [-1 +- sq root (1 - 4 *1*-6)] / 2 x = [-1 +- sq root (25)] / 2 x = (-1 +5) / 2 x1 = 2
