Question

What is a possible next step in Sharina's simplification process of the expression 3(2x - 6 - x + 1)^2 - 2 + 4x?

a) Expand and simplify the squared term within the parentheses
b) Distribute 3 across the terms inside the parentheses
c) Combine like terms within the parentheses
d) Simplify the expression by factoring

Answer 1

To simplify the expression 3(2x - 6 - x + 1)^2 - 2 + 4x, Sharina should first combine like terms inside the parentheses, resulting in (x - 5)^2 before proceeding with further simplifications.

Step-by-step explanation:

The appropriate next step in Sharina's simplification process of the expression 3(2x - 6 - x + 1)^2 - 2 + 4x is to first combine like terms within the parentheses. This means that we should add and subtract terms with the same variable or constants to simplify the expression inside the parentheses before applying any other operations like expanding.

Once the like terms are combined, the inside of the parentheses becomes (x - 5)^2, and then the expression can be further simplified in subsequent steps.