Final answer:
To combine like terms in the expression {-12 - 6p - (-2)}, change the sign of the term inside the parentheses and combine constant terms to get -6p - 10.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question involves combining like terms to create an equivalent expression in mathematics.
The expression given is {-12 - 6p - (-2)}.
To simplify this, we first remove the parentheses, which involves changing the sign of the term inside the parentheses according to the rule of subtraction.
Therefore, we have:
-12 - 6p + 2.
Now, we combine the like terms, which in this case are the constant numbers -12 and +2. Combining these gives us:
-12 + 2 = -10.
The term -6p remains unchanged because there are no other 'p' terms to combine it with.
So, the simplified expression is: -6p - 10