SOLUTION: The expression 3[x-2(x-7)] simplifies to the form ax + b. State a.

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Question 1165064: The expression 3[x-2(x-7)] simplifies to the form ax + b. State a.
Found 2 solutions by ikleyn, Theo:
Answer by ikleyn(52855) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
.

    a = -3.     ANSWER

Solved.

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To answer this question,  you do not need to make all the calculations that tutor @Theo makes in his response.

You only need to trace the highest degree of x,  and for it,  one line is enough to get the answer.



Answer by Theo(13342) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
expression is 3 * (x - 2 * (x-7))
2 * (x - 7) simplifies to 2 * x - 14
equation becomes:
3 * (x - 2 * x + 14)
this simplifies to 3 * x - 3 * 2 * x + 3 * 14
simplify to get:
3 * x - 6 * x + 42
combine like terms to get:
-3 * x + 42.

to test if this is correct, let x be equal to any random value.
i chose -55.

with the final expression, this becomes -3 * x + 42 which becomes -3 * -55 +42 which is equal to 207.

with the initial expression, this becomes 3 * (-55 - 2 * (-55 - 7)) which becomes 3 * (-55 - 2 * -62) which becomes 3 * (-55 + 124) which becomes 3 * 69 which is equal to 207.

since both expressions come out with the same value, then the simplified expression is good.

your final expression is -3 * x + 42, so your solution is that a = -3.