Final answer:
The correct option is a) 0 because 18 - 4.3 equals 13.7 which does not change when set equal to 0, while other options result in different values that do not match 13.7.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question asks which expression would form an equation when set equal to 18 - 4.3. To solve this, we must first calculate the value of the given expression:
18 - 4.3 = 13.7
Now that we have the value, we can review the provided options to see which one also equals to 13.7: b) 14 - 11.2
14 - 11.2 equals 2.8, which does not match our result. c) 3(12 - 9)
3(12 - 9) is the same as 3 * 3, which equals 9, again not matching our result. d) 8.3 = 4
This is not even an expression, it's an incorrect equation stating 8.3 equals 4, which is false.
Therefore, the correct option is: a) 0
Since 18 - 4.3 equals 13.7 and nothing added to 0 changes its value, option a) forms a valid equation with the given expression, because 18 - 4.3 = 13.7 = 0, when we consider that we are looking for the right expression to align with the known result.