Question

How do you simplify `7(8x+ 7) +3x`?

Answer 1

Distribute the 7 into the brackets to get the x term out, then add in the 3x to get the final answer of `59x+49`

Explanation:

Let's first talk about what needs to be simplified - there are two expressions and it'd be great to have the `3x` as part of a single expression. So let's see how we can do that.

The first expression, `7(8x+7)`, has an x tucked away in the brackets. So let's multiply the 7 through the brackets, get the x term out in the open, then add in the 3x, and finally try to put the expression back into a single one.

Starting with the full expression:

`7(8x+7)+3x`

Let's multiply the 7 into the brackets:

`56x+49+3x`

Now we can add the two x terms:

`59x+49`

Can we do any more? No, we can't - 59 is prime, so won't factor down into smaller components. So this is where things get left.