Expand the product (x - 1)(x + 6).

Expand the product (x - 1)(x + 6).

• A. x^2 + 7x - 6
• B. x^2 + 5x - 6
• C. x^2 - 5x - 6
• D. x^2 + 5x + 6

Answer: (B)

Expanding a product of binomials uses the distributive property (often done by FOIL: first, outer, inner, last) to multiply each pair and then combine like terms. Multiply x by x to get x^2, x by 6 to get 6x, -1 by x to get -x, and -1 by 6 to get -6. Putting those results together gives x^2 + 6x - x - 6. Combine the x terms: 6x - x equals 5x, so the final expression is x^2 + 5x - 6. The middle term has coefficient 5 and the constant is -6, which matches the correct expanded form. The other options would have incorrect signs or coefficients for either the x term or the constant.

Expanding a product of binomials uses the distributive property (often done by FOIL: first, outer, inner, last) to multiply each pair and then combine like terms. Multiply x by x to get x^2, x by 6 to get 6x, -1 by x to get -x, and -1 by 6 to get -6. Putting those results together gives x^2 + 6x - x - 6. Combine the x terms: 6x - x equals 5x, so the final expression is x^2 + 5x - 6. The middle term has coefficient 5 and the constant is -6, which matches the correct expanded form. The other options would have incorrect signs or coefficients for either the x term or the constant.