What is the standard form of a polynomial # (-2x^3 - 5x + 4) + (4x^3 + 2x-2)#?

1 Answer
Dec 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:

#-2x^3 - 5x + 4 + 4x^3 + 2x - 2#

Next, group like terms in descending order of the exponents:

#-2x^3 + 4x^3 - 5x + 2x + 4 - 2#

Now, combine like terms:

#(-2 + 4)x^3 + (-5 + 2)x + (4 - 2)#

#2x^3 + (-3)x + 2#

#2x^3 - 3x + 2#