Completing the square is a process to find the solutions, or the x-values, to a quadratic equation. This method can only work if it is in the format: x^2 + bx = c In this equation, the b value is -12 and the c value is -6. The process for completing the square goes like this:
x^2 + bx + (b/2)^2 = c + (b/2)^2
Now let’s solve the equation above using this method.
Step 1: x^2 - 12x + (-12/2)^2 = -6 + (-12/2)^2
Step 2: x^2 - 12x + (-6)^2 = -6 + (-6)^2
Step 3: x^2 - 12x + 36 = -6 + 36
Step 4: x^2 - 12x + 36 = 30
Now, to factor it. After doing the process until now, the left side of the equation can ALWAYS be in the format: (x + a)^2
Step 5: x^2 - 12x + 36 can be factored in this format as (x - 6)^2
