Question

Use the commutative property to simplify the following expression: 5x - 10 - 18x + 4

Answer 1

To simplify the expression \( 5x - 10 - 18x + 4 \) using the commutative property, we can rearrange the terms. The commutative property states that we can change the order of the terms in an expression without changing the result.

Let's rearrange the terms:

\[
5x - 18x - 10 + 4
\]

Now let's group and combine like terms:

Combine the \(x\) terms:

\[
5x - 18x = -13x
\]

Combine the constant terms:

\[
-10 + 4 = -6
\]

Now, putting it all together gives us:

\[
-13x - 6
\]

So, the simplified expression is:

\[
-13x - 6
\]