Rearrange the polynomial to put it in standard form. Place the terms in order from highest to lowest power.
$$x^{2}-8x+7$$
Factor the expression by grouping. First, the expression needs to be rewritten as $x^{2}+ax+bx+7$. To find $a$ and $b$, set up a system to be solved.
$$a+b=-8$$ $$ab=1\times 7=7$$
Since $ab$ is positive, $a$ and $b$ have the same sign. Since $a+b$ is negative, $a$ and $b$ are both negative. The only such pair is the system solution.
$$a=-7$$ $$b=-1$$
Rewrite $x^{2}-8x+7$ as $\left(x^{2}-7x\right)+\left(-x+7\right)$.
$$\left(x^{2}-7x\right)+\left(-x+7\right)$$
Factor out $x$ in the first and $-1$ in the second group.
$$x\left(x-7\right)-\left(x-7\right)$$
Factor out common term $x-7$ by using distributive property.
$$\left(x-7\right)\left(x-1\right)$$
Steps Using the Quadratic Formula
Quadratic polynomial can be factored using the transformation $ax^{2}+bx+c=a\left(x-x_{1}\right)\left(x-x_{2}\right)$, where $x_{1}$ and $x_{2}$ are the solutions of the quadratic equation $ax^{2}+bx+c=0$.
$$x^{2}-8x+7=0$$
All equations of the form $ax^{2}+bx+c=0$ can be solved using the quadratic formula: $\frac{-b±\sqrt{b^{2}-4ac}}{2a}$. The quadratic formula gives two solutions, one when $±$ is addition and one when it is subtraction.
