Question

Karen and bill collect coins. Karen has x coins. Bill has 2 coins fewer than four times the amount of coins Karen has. Write and simplify an expression to the total number of coins Karen and bill have

Answer 1

The expression for the total number of coins Karen and Bill have is 5x - 2, where x represents the number of coins Karen has.

Step-by-step explanation:

To write an expression for the total number of coins Karen and Bill have, we'll first define Karen's amount as x.

According to the problem, Bill has 2 coins fewer than four times the amount of Karen's coins, which can be expressed as 4x - 2.

To find the total amount of coins, we sum Karen's and Bill's coins: x + (4x - 2).

Now, to simplify the expression, we combine like terms which means adding the coefficients of x together:

x + 4x = 5x

Then we bring down the constant term:

5x - 2

The simplified expression for the total number of coins that Karen and Bill have together is 5x - 2.