Question

Evaluate this exponential expression.

3 x (5 + 4)² - 4² = _____
A. 345
B. 15
C. 227
D. 46

Answer 1

To evaluate the exponential expression 3 x (5 + 4)² - 4², follow the order of operations to simplify inside the parentheses, raise to powers, perform multiplication, and then subtraction. The correct answer is 227.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question involves evaluating an exponential expression. First, we need to apply the order of operations, which in mathematics is abbreviated as PEMDAS or BIDMAS. This stands for Parentheses/Brackets, Exponents/Indices, Multiplication and Division (from left to right), and Addition and Subtraction (from left to right).

To solve the expression 3 x (5 + 4)² - 4², we do the following steps:

1. Calculate the sum inside the parentheses: (5 + 4) = 9.
2. Raise the result to the power of 2: 9² = 81.
3. Multiply this result by 3: 3 x 81 = 243.
4. Separately, square the number 4: 4² = 16.
5. Subtract the second square from the first product: 243 - 16 = 227.

So, the correct answer to the expression is 227, which corresponds to option C.