How do you combine like terms in #(3x ^ { 4} - 7) - ( 4x ^ { 4} - 5)#?

1 Answer
May 23, 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:

#3x^4 - 7 - 4x^4 + 5#

Next, group like terms:

#3x^4 - 4x^4 - 7 + 5#

Now, combine like terms:

#(3 - 4)x^4 + (-7 + 5)#

#-1x^4 + (-2)#

#-x^4 - 2#