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

1 Answer
May 12, 2017

See a solution process below:

Explanation:

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#