document.write( "<A HREF=/cgi-bin/jump-to-question.mpl?question=1152208>Question 1152208</A>: <I><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> Simplify the following expression:<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "1/2x + 3 + 7/2x -5. The answer is 4x-2, but how do you get that answer? I times everything by 2 to get rid of the fraction so the equation ends up being: x+6+7x-5 and combining like terms I get 8x-1. What am I doing wrong here? </SPAN>\n" );
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document.write( "This is not an equation; it is an expression.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "Given an equation like<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "(1/2)x = 5<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "you can multiply BOTH SIDES OF THE EQUATION by 2 and get an equivalent equation<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "x = 10<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "But when you multiply AN EXPRESSION by 2, the resulting expression is no longer equivalent to the original.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "And, by the way, if you multiply the whole expression by 2, the last part is \"-10\", not \"-5\".<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "Since this is an expression instead of an equation, you can't multiply everything by 2.  Just combine like terms.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "(1/2)x plus (7/2) x is (8/2)x, or 4x; (3) plus (-5) is -2.  So the simplified expression is 4x-2.<br><BR>\n" );
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