Ricardo and Kim rowed their canoes from their base camp to a fishing camp. They rowed a distance of x miles upstream on one river, (3x^2 - 9) miles downstream on another river, and (2x + 9) miles across a calm lake. Which expression is equivalent to the total distance, in miles, Ricardo and Kim rowed their canoes?

Question

anonymous · Answer

Total  = x + ( 3x^2 -9 ) + ( 2x + 9)
          =  3x^2 + x

anonymous · Answer

There is no answer.  Canoes are paddled, not rowed.  But more importantly, one plus two is three, not one.

anonymous · Answer

Right, I'm miscalculated
total = 3x^2 + 3x