Question

would someone be able to explain to me how to solve these problems? I don't need the solutions, I just need an explanation. I need to solve the quadratic by factoring.

Answer 1

The first 3  are examples of the difference of 2 squares so you use the identity 
a^2 - b^2 = (a + b)(a - b)
x^2 - 49 = 0 
so (x + 7)(x - 7) = 0
so either x + 7 = 0 or x - 7 = 0
giving x = -7  and 7.
Number 7 reduces to 3x^2 =12, x^2  = 4 so x = +/- 2
Number 8  take out GCf (d) to give 
d(d - 2)  = 0   so d = 0 ,  2
9 and 10 are more difficult to factor
you use the 'ac' method  Google it to get more details
2x^2 - 5x + 2
multiply first coefficient by the constant at the end 
that is 2 * 2 =  4
Now we want  2 numbers  which when multiplied give + 4 and when added give - 5:-    -1 and -4  seem promising so we write the equation as:-

2x^2 - 4x - x + 2 = 0

now factor by grouping 
2x(x - 2) - 1(x - 2) = 0

(x - 2) is common so

(2x - 1)(x - 2) = 0
and 2x - 1 = 0 or x - 2 = 0  and now you can find x.

The last example is solved in the same way.