Asked by vfsav

Are the expressions –0.5(3x + 5) and
–1.5x + 2.5 equivalent? Explain why or why not.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
No. Distribute −0.5:
−0.5(3x + 5) = −0.5·3x + −0.5·5 = −1.5x − 2.5.

That is not the same as −1.5x + 2.5 (the constant term has the opposite sign). For example, at x = 0 the first equals −2.5 while the second equals 2.5, so they are not equivalent.