9sam and jeremy lave ages that are consecutive odd integers.
the product of their ages is 783. which equation could be nsed to
find jeremy's age, j, if he is the younger man
(1) je 2
783
(3) 783

If Jeremy is j then Sam has to be j + 2 since they are consecutive odd integers.  It says their product is 783... so

j * (j + 2) = 783
j^2 + 2j = 783

The reason it ISN'T j^2 + 2 is because the parentheses. It's the product of Jeremy and Sam... Sam's age has to be kept together as j+2 and Jeremy (j) has to be multiplied by the whole thing, not just j.