Question

A student simplified the expression (3x^2+2)-(2x^2+4) as x^2+^6 Explain what the student did incorrectly and state the correct answer.

Answer 1

(3x²+2)-(2x²+4)

write in a different form, remove parentheses

3x²+2-2x²-4

calculate the value of the corresponding terms

x²-2

Answer: Yes, he made a mistake.

A simplified expression would look like this x²-2 and not like this x²+^6.

Answer 2

x^2 - 2

Explanation:

The correct procedure would have been to distribute the negative to the +4 also, so you would have +2 - 4 = -2 so the final answer should have been

x^2 - 2