Question

Maria is attempting to factor the expression In her first step, she rewrites the expression as. Which of the following statements is true about Maria's work?

Answer 1

B

Explanation:

The first parenthesis is (y + 12) and the second parenthesis is ( - y - 12 ).

These two has to be equal in order for her to combine terms and simplify further.

For them to be equal, she SHOULD HAVE factored out a -7 from the second group of factors so the term inside the 2nd parenthesis would have been ( - y - 12 ) thus making the factoring and simplification possible!

From the answer choices, B is right.