Question

Estelle and Isaac were trying to describe parts of the expression 1/2 (4a+1)

Estelle said, "The entire expression is the product of 2 factors."
Isaac said, "On its own, (4a+1) is a sum with 3 terms."
Who is correct?
a. Only Estelle
b. Only Isaac
c. Neither student is correct.

Answer 1

In the expression 1/2 (4a+1), Estelle is correct in stating that the entire expression is the product of two factors, 1/2 and (4a+1). Isaac is incorrect; (4a+1) is a binomial with two terms, not a sum with three terms. Therefore, the correct option is a. Only Estelle.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question involves determining the correctness of two students' descriptions of the mathematical expression 1/2 (4a+1). Estelle's statement that "The entire expression is the product of 2 factors." is accurate. The two factors in question are 1/2 and (4a+1).

The expression can indeed be seen as the product of a fraction and a binomial.

Isaac's statement that "On its own, (4a+1) is a sum with 3 terms." is incorrect; (4a+1) is a binomial, which means it has two terms, not three.

A binomial is an algebraic expression containing two different terms that are neither added nor subtracted.

Therefore, the answer to the question is that only Estelle is correct.