Answer:
factors are any group of number or expressions which, when multiplied, produce another number or expression.
Basic example: 4 can be broken into 2 factors---2 and 2. 2 times 2 = 4
Example using an unknown:
2X + 6 = 2 * (X + 3)
In the given problem, there is no whole-number common factor. A normal convention would be to factor based on the unknown term----thus 8X is factored into 8 and X.
So: 8X + 7 = 8 ( X + 7/8 )
The following would also be correct:
8X + 7 = 4 ( 2X + 7/4 )
Explanation: