Question

a) Simplify the expression and explain each step.
4(3x+2) - 2
b) Factor the expression completely
20b- 16

Answer 1

a) First, expand those brackets! \[12x + 8 - 2\] From there, you can simplify to: \[12x +5\] And that's it. Since it doesn't ask you to solve, then you don't need to go any further.

b) Firstly, which number goes into 20 and 16 and is the highest possible? (It's 4!) So, \[4(5b - 4)\] would be your factorised expression. When you multiply the brackets out, you should get the original expression.

Answer 2

Thanks.