Final answer:
To simplify the expression 7x² - 7x, factor out the common term 7x, resulting in 7x(x - 1). This confirms that option a) is the correct answer.
Step-by-step explanation:
To simplify the expression 7x² - 7x, we will first look for common factors that can be factored out. Here, both terms share a common factor of 7x. When we factor out 7x from both terms, we divide each term by 7x. This gives us:
7x² / 7x = x
7x / 7x = 1
So the simplified expression becomes 7x(x - 1).
Thus, when we eliminate terms wherever possible to simplify the algebra, we get the expression 7x multiplied by (x - 1). We can check this answer is reasonable by distributing 7x back into the parentheses, which would give us the original expression, confirming the simplification is correct.
The correct answer is option a) 7x(x - 1).