To find the missing term in the product \( (-9m^6 + 12m^5)(m^2 + 2m + 1) \), we can use distribution (also known as the FOIL method for binomials). The expression can be expanded as follows:
-
Distributing \(-9m^6\):
- \(-9m^6 \cdot m^2 = -9m^8\)
- \(-9m^6 \cdot 2m = -18m^7\)
- \(-9m^6 \cdot 1 = -9m^6\)
-
Distributing \(12m^5\):
- \(12m^5 \cdot m^2 = 12m^7\)
- \(12m^5 \cdot 2m = 24m^6\)
- \(12m^5 \cdot 1 = 12m^5\)
Now, we can combine the terms we obtained from the distributions:
-
From \(-9m^6\) we have:
- \(-9m^8\)
- \(-18m^7\)
- \(-9m^6\)
-
From \(12m^5\) we have:
- \(12m^7\)
- \(24m^6\)
- \(12m^5\)
Combining these results gives the complete expansion: \[ -9m^8 + (-18m^7 + 12m^7) + (-9m^6 + 24m^6) + 12m^5 \]
Let's simplify the terms:
- The \(m^8\) term: \(-9m^8\)
- The \(m^7\) term: \(-18m^7 + 12m^7 = -6m^7\)
- The \(m^6\) term: \(-9m^6 + 24m^6 = 15m^6\)
- The \(m^5\) term: \(12m^5\)
Thus, we can summarize the entire polynomial as: \[ -9m^8 - 6m^7 + 15m^6 + 12m^5 \]
Now, looking back at your question:
The product gives us: \[ (-9m^8 - 6m^7 + ? + 12m^5) \]
We identified that the missing term is \(15m^6\).
Therefore, the correct response is: 15m^6.