Arturo O. answered 05/01/20
Experienced Physics Teacher for Physics Tutoring
The question is incomplete. I assume you want to solve for x in
(x + 1)2(x - 4) = 0
Set each factor equal to zero.
(x + 1) = 0
x = -1
Since the factor (x + 1) appears twice, -1 is a root of multiplicity 2. Similarly,
(x - 4) = 0
x = 4
The factor (x - 4) appears once, so 4 is a root of multiplicity 1.