Question

Solve by factoring. m^2+8m+7 =0
8,7
-7,1
-7,-1
7,1

Answer 1

First, we need to find two numbers that multiply to 7 and add up to 8. The numbers that satisfy this are 1 and 7.

So we can rewrite the equation as:

m^2 + 1m + 7m + 7 = 0

Now we can factor by grouping:

m(m + 1) + 7(m + 1) = 0

(m + 1)(m + 7) = 0

Now we can set each factor equal to zero:

m + 1 = 0 or m + 7 = 0

m = -1 or m = -7

Therefore, the solutions are m = -1 and m = -7.