Final answer:
Oliver must follow the order of operations to simplify the expression 7-3(4-9)². After handling the parenthesis and exponent, he multiplies and subtracts to get the final result of -68. Any deviation from this order could result in an incorrect answer.
Step-by-step explanation:
Oliver needs to simplify the mathematical expression 7-3(4-9)². The correct process to simplify the expression involves first handling the operations inside the parentheses, followed by exponents, and then multiplication and subtraction as per the order of operations or PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction). Therefore, Oliver should first calculate the value inside the parentheses, (4-9), which is -5. He then needs to square this value, which is 25. After that, the expression becomes 7-3×25. Finally, Oliver multiplies 3 by 25, getting 75, and then subtracts this from 7, which results in -68. If Oliver missed any of these steps or performed them out of order, it could lead to an incorrect result. It's always important to eliminate terms wherever possible to simplify the algebra and then check the answer to see if it is reasonable.