Question

How do you combine like terms in `(3x ^ { 2} - 6x + 18) - ( 2x ^ { 2} - 6x + 14)`?

Answer 1

See the entire solution process below:

Explanation:

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

`3color(red)(x^2) - 6color(blue)(x) + 18 - 2color(red)(x^2) + 6color(blue)(x) - 14`

Next, group like terms:

`3color(red)(x^2) - 2color(red)(x^2) - 6color(blue)(x) + 6color(blue)(x) + 18 - 14`

Now, combine like terms:

`(3 - 2)color(red)(x^2) + (-6 + 6)color(blue)(x) + 4`

`1color(red)(x^2) + 0color(blue)(x) + 4`

`color(red)(x^2) + 4`