Question

Simplifying by Combining Like Terms
Ranger's friend, Foster, wanted to challenge him by creating this expression involving two sets of parentheses with fractions:1
3
(9x − 15) + 4(x + 1
2
)

Ranger showed his first two steps below.

1. Distribute 1
3
and 4 through the parentheses: 1
3
(9x) − 1
3
(15) + 4(x) + 4(1
2
)
2. Find each product: 3x − 5 + 4x + 2
3. Combine like terms:
What should Ranger write for step 3?

Answer 1

Step 3: Combine like terms: 3x + 4x = 7x and −5 + 2 = −3, so the simplified result is 7x − 3.