Answer:
a) See below
b) -(x + 3)(x - 4)
Step-by-step explanation:
Part a)
To rewrite the expression 12 + x - x² in the form -(x² - x - 12), we need to factor out a negative sign from the expression.
Begin by placing the given expression in parentheses:
[tex](12 + x - x^2)[/tex]
Now, place the negative sign outside the parentheses and then divide each term inside the parentheses by -1.
When we factor out a negative sign from an expression, we are essentially multiplying the entire expression by -1. To cancel out this multiplication, we need to divide each term inside the parentheses by -1 to ensure that the resulting expression remains equivalent to the original one.
[tex]-\left(\dfrac{12}{-1}+\dfrac{x}{-1}-\dfrac{x^2}{-1}\right)[/tex]
This simplifies to:
[tex]-\left(-12-x-(-x^2)\right)\\\\\\-(12-x+x^2)[/tex]
Finally, rearrange the terms within the parentheses. This rearrangement does not change the expression's value, as we are only changing the order in which the terms appear (Commutative Property):
[tex]-(x^2 - x - 12)[/tex]
[tex]\dotfill[/tex]
Part b)
To fully factorise the quadratic expression 12 + x - x², we can use the expression we derived in part a, which is -(x² - x - 12).
Factor the expression within the parentheses, x² - x - 12.
This is a quadratic expression in the form ax² + bx + c, where a = 1, b = -1 and c = -12.
Find two numbers that multiply to the product of a and c, and sum to up to b.
The product of a and c is 1 × -12 = -12. Two numbers that multiply to -12 and sum to -1 are -4 and 3. So, we can rewrite the quadratic expression inside the parentheses as:
[tex]-(x^2 - 4x + 3x - 12)[/tex]
Factor the first two terms and the last two terms within the parentheses separately:
[tex]-(x(x-4)+3(x-4))[/tex]
Factor out the common term (x - 4):
[tex]-(x+3)(x-4)[/tex]
So, the fully factorised form of the quadratic expression 12 + x - x² is:
[tex]\Large\boxed{\boxed{-(x+3)(x-4)}}[/tex]