The product of two numbers is 240.the first number is less then the second number. which equation can be used to find x, the lesser number?

Let's call the lesser number x and the other one x+8

Explanation:

The product x⋅(x+8)=240→

Or:  x2+8x=240→

We can rework this by subtracting 240 from both sides:

x2+8x−240=0

Now we factor −240 into two factors that add up to 8
After some trying we find 20and−12

The equation turns into

(x+20)(x−12)=0

→x=−20orx=12

So the pairs of numbers will be:

−20and−12 or +12and+20

The correct answer would be the fourth choice