add 1/2 (x+4) + 1/4 (4x-2) anser should be in mixed number form

1 answer

To add the fractions \( \frac{1}{2}(x + 4) + \frac{1}{4}(4x - 2) \), we first distribute each term.

  1. Distribute \( \frac{1}{2} \) into \( (x + 4) \):

\[ \frac{1}{2}(x + 4) = \frac{1}{2}x + \frac{1}{2} \cdot 4 = \frac{1}{2}x + 2 \]

  1. Distribute \( \frac{1}{4} \) into \( (4x - 2) \):

\[ \frac{1}{4}(4x - 2) = \frac{1}{4} \cdot 4x - \frac{1}{4} \cdot 2 = x - \frac{1}{2} \]

  1. Now we combine the two results:

\[ \left( \frac{1}{2}x + 2 \right) + \left( x - \frac{1}{2} \right) \]

Combine like terms:

  • For \( x \) terms: \( \frac{1}{2}x + x = \frac{1}{2}x + \frac{2}{2}x = \frac{3}{2}x \)
  • For constant terms: \( 2 - \frac{1}{2} = \frac{4}{2} - \frac{1}{2} = \frac{3}{2} \)

Putting it all together, we have:

\[ \frac{3}{2}x + \frac{3}{2} \]

Now, let's express the constant term \( \frac{3}{2} \) in mixed number form.

Since \( \frac{3}{2} = 1 \frac{1}{2} \), we have:

The final answer is:

\[ \frac{3}{2}x + 1 \frac{1}{2} \]