Express the polynomial as a product of linear factors. 3x^3+12x^2+3x-18

f(x) =  3(x + 2)(x - 1)(x + 3)

Step-by-step explanation:

A logical first step would be to factor 3 out of all four terms:

f(x) = 3x^3+12x^2+3x-18 = 3(x^3 + 4x^2 + x - 6)

Roots of this x^3 + 4x^2 + x - 6 could be factors of 6:  {±1, ±2, ±3, ±6}.

I would use synthetic division here to determine which, if any, of these possibilities are actually roots of x^3 + 4x^2 + x - 6.  Let's try x = 1 and see whether the remainder of this synth. div. is 0, which would indicate that 1 is indeed a root of x^3 + 4x^2 + x - 6:

1    /    1    4    1    -6

                1    5    6

          1     5    6    0

Yes, 1 is a root of x^3 + 4x^2 + x - 6, and so (x - 1) is a factor of x^3 + 4x^2 + x - 6.

Look at the coefficients of the quotient, which are   1, 5 and 6.

This represents the quadratic 1x² + 5x + 6, whose factors are (x + 2) and

(x + 3).

Thus, the given polynomial in factored form is:

f(x) = 3x^3+12x^2+3x-18 = 3(x + 2)(x - 1)(x + 3)

its 50 miles away from the starting point