Asked by Alexis

Are 2(x − 3) + 1 and 2x + 6 equivalent expressions? Use substitution to justify your work.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
No. Two expressions are equivalent only if they give the same value for every x. A single counterexample by substitution is enough to show they are not equivalent.

Let x = 0:
- 2(x − 3) + 1 = 2(0 − 3) + 1 = 2(−3) + 1 = −6 + 1 = −5
- 2x + 6 = 2(0) + 6 = 0 + 6 = 6

Since −5 ≠ 6, the expressions are not equivalent.

(You can also expand 2(x − 3) + 1 = 2x − 6 + 1 = 2x − 5, which clearly is not equal to 2x + 6.)