How do you combine like terms in #(a ^ { 2} - 9a + 11) - ( 2a ^ { 2} - 6a - 1)#?

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Answer 1 · 2017-05-12T03:17:32

See a solution process below:

First, remove all of the terms from parenthesis. Be careful to handle the signs of each individual term correctly:

#a^2 - 9a + 11 - 2a^2 + 6a + 1#

Next, group like terms:

#a^2 - 2a^2 - 9a + 6a + 11 + 1#

Now, combine like terms:

#1a^2 - 2a^2 - 9a + 6a + 11 + 1#

#(1 - 2)a^2 + (-9 + 6)a + (11 + 1)#

#-1a^2 + (-3)a + 12#

#-a^2 - 3a + 12#