Question

Write the expression in simplest form (-3/4 x -9) - (-15 + 1/8x)

Answer 1

`-(7)/(8)x+6`

Explanation:

First, remove the parentheses by distributing the negative in the second half of the expression:

`(-(3)/(4)x-9)-(-15+(1)/(8)x)\\-(3)/(4)x-9+15-(1)/(8)x`

Next, combine like terms. To make this easier, it may help to rearrange the expression so like terms are adjacent to one another:

`-(3)/(4)x-9+15-(1)/(8)x\\-(3)/(4)x-(1)/(8)x-9+15\\-(6)/(8)x-(1)/(8)x+6\\-(7)/(8)x+6`

This is the simplest form of the expression.