Question

Factor completely x^2 – 12x + 35.
(x - 5)(x - 7)?

Answer 1

yup

Answer 2

Here are the complete steps:
x^2 - 12x + 35
x^2 - 5x - 7x + 35
x(x - 5) -7(x - 5)
(x - 5)(x - 7)

Answer 3

you can use the FOIL method to check this...
x-5
x-7
_____
x^2-5x
-7x +35
____________
x^2-12x+35 checks out!!!

Answer 4

You can also use distributive property to do FOIL as well:

(x - 5)(x - 7) = x(x - 5) -7(x - 5) = x^2 - 5x - 7x + 35 = x^2 -12x + 35