Can -x^2 - 5x + 4 be written as x^2 + 5x - 4?
nope, what you wrote is the opposite of what you had
That is like saying can 5 be written as -5 ?
however, if you are solving an equation, such as
-x^2 - 5x + 4 = 0
you can multiply both sides by -1 to get rid of the leading minus sign:
x^2 + 5x - 4 = 0
since -0 = 0.
To determine if the given expression, -x^2 - 5x + 4, can be written as x^2 + 5x - 4, we can compare the two expressions term by term.
Let's break down each expression:
Expression 1: -x^2 - 5x + 4
Expression 2: x^2 + 5x - 4
Let's compare the coefficients of corresponding terms:
The coefficient of x^2 in Expression 1 is -1, while in Expression 2 it is 1. These coefficients are not the same, so we can already say that the two expressions are not equal in terms of their x^2 terms.
Since the coefficients for the x^2 term are not the same, we can conclude that the given expression, -x^2 - 5x + 4, cannot be written in the form of x^2 + 5x - 4.