What is the standard form of a polynomial #(7x^2 - 2x + 8) - (4x^2 + 9x - 1)#?

1 Answer
Aug 13, 2016

#3x^2-11x+9#

Explanation:

The first step is to distribute the brackets.

#rArr7x^2-2x+8-4x^2-9x+1#

now, collect #color(blue)"like terms"#

#color(blue)(7x^2-4x^2)color(red)(-2x-9x)color(magenta)(+8+1)#

#=3x^2-11x+9" in standard form"#

Standard form means start with the term with the highest power of the variable, in this case #x^2#, followed by the next highest power and so on until the last term, the constant.