Factorize x² + x - 12 Factor out HCF of the two terms?

To factorize x² + x - 12, we need to find two numbers that multiply to -12 and add up to 1 (the coefficient of the x term).

The two numbers that satisfy these conditions are 4 and -3.

Therefore, we can rewrite x² + x - 12 as:

x² + 4x - 3x - 12

Now, we can factor out the highest common factor (HCF) of the two terms:

x(x + 4) - 3(x + 4)

Now, we can factor out the common binomial factor:

(x - 3)(x + 4)

So, the factorization of x² + x - 12 is (x - 3)(x + 4).

The HCF (highest common factor) of x² and x is x.

Factoring out the HCF, we get:
```
x² - x - 12
= x(x - 1) - 12
```