Use the Associative Property to determine which expression is correctly simplified.(1 point)
A. −3⋅(4x⋅−2)⋅−6y=18−8x
B. −3⋅(4x⋅−2)⋅−6y=−7xy
C. −3⋅(4x⋅−2)⋅−6y=(−3⋅4x)(−2⋅−6y)
D. −3⋅(4x⋅−2)⋅−6y=(−3⋅4x)⋅−2−6y
The correct answer is C. −3⋅(4x⋅−2)⋅−6y=(−3⋅4x)(−2⋅−6y)
The associative property states that changing the grouping of numbers being multiplied does not affect the product.
Looking at the expression in option C: −3⋅(4x⋅−2)⋅−6y=(−3⋅4x)(−2⋅−6y)
We can see that it follows the associative property because the grouping of (4x⋅−2) and (−6y) are changed to (-3⋅4x) and (−2⋅−6y).
Therefore, the correct simplified expression is option C: −3⋅(4x⋅−2)⋅−6y=(−3⋅4x)(−2⋅−6y).