How do you combine liked terms in #(- 2x ^ { 2} + 8x + 2) - ( - 5x ^ { 2} + 11x + 8) - ( x ^ { 2} - 6x - 6)#?

1 Answer
Sep 4, 2017

See a process below:

Explanation:

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

#-2x^2 + 8x + 2 + 5x^2 - 11x - 8 - x^2 + 6x + 6#

Next, group like terms:

#-2x^2 + 5x^2 - x^2 + 8x - 11x + 6x + 2 - 8 + 6#

Now, combine like terms:

#-2x^2 + 5x^2 - 1x^2 + 8x - 11x + 6x + 2 - 8 + 6#

#(-2 + 5 - 1)x^2 + (8 - 11 + 6)x + (2 - 8 + 6)#

#2x^2 + 3x + 0#

#2x^2 + 3x#