There's a question in my textbook:
$5x-6-(3x-2)$
I think I misunderstood as I put the following for my working out:
$5x-6-3x-2$
And from that I got:
$2x-8$
Can anyone help me to understand how to get the right answer?
There's a question in my textbook:
$5x-6-(3x-2)$
I think I misunderstood as I put the following for my working out:
$5x-6-3x-2$
And from that I got:
$2x-8$
Can anyone help me to understand how to get the right answer?
Think of subtracting the quantity in the parentheses as a application of the distributive power. Consider that: $5x-6-(3x-2) = 5x-6+(-1(3x-2))$ As adding a negative is the same as subtracting a positive. Then, just distribute the -1 over the quantity in parentheses so:$5x-6-(3x-2) = 5x-6+(-3x+2))$ As the -1*-2 becomes a +2 and the -1(3x) is merely -3x. Now, as there's nothing multiplying the quantity in parentheses, you can simply take them off and get:$5x-6-(3x-2) = 5x-6-3x+2$ Hopefully that clarifies things for you, but feel free to comment if something is unclear.