Example

Solve for $v$ by factoring: $\quad v^2+v-2=0$

Solution

We start by factoring the left-hand side. In order to factor, we must find two numbers whose product is $-2$ and whose sum is $1$. Those numbers are $-1$ and $2$. Therefore, the factorization of the left-hand side is given by

Now we solve the equation by setting the factors equal to zero.