Final answer:
To simplify (a - z)^3, expand it using the binomial expansion formula to get a^3 - 3a^2z + 3az^2 - z^3. There are no like terms to combine, so this is the simplified form.
Step-by-step explanation:
To simplify the algebraic expression (a - z)^3, we need to apply the rule of exponents. According to the rule for cubing of exponentials, each term inside the parentheses is raised to the third power individually, and we also apply the rule for cubing a binomial. Here, we won't actually need to cube a digit term since we are dealing with algebraic expressions and the coefficients are not specified. Instead, we will expand the expression using binomial expansion. The cube of a binomial expression (a - b)^3 can be expanded to a^3 - 3a^2b + 3ab^2 - b^3.
Therefore, applying this to our expression (a - z)^3, we get:
a^3 - 3a^2z + 3az^2 - z^3
There are no like terms to combine, so this is the simplified form of the algebraic expression.
Remember to eliminate terms wherever possible and check if the answer is reasonable.