The way I got this answer is by completing the square. The first step though, when looking at this equation, is to see if we can factor it. The way to check is to look at the coefficient for x² which is 1, and the constant, in this case -1. If we multiply those together, we get −. Now we look at the middle term, 4x. We need to find any numbers that multiply to equal − 1x² and add to 4x. There aren't any, which means it is not factorable.
