Greta says that the expression (2xa)+5 is the same as 2x(a+5). Is she correct?Why or why not?
(2xa)+5 = 2a + 5
2x(a+5) = 2a + 10
I don't understand.Can you please explain it to me?
I worked the problems just as you posted them. Obviously they have different answers.
I'm just making sure that you knew I meant the x was multiplication.I don't understand why the a is not represented with a number.I was thinking that I would have to find what a equals.Thank you for helping me.
Yes, I know you meant x to mean multiplication. We use * for multiplication, though.
We can't find the value of a because you haven't presented any equations. There were no equal signs after your expressions.
Thank you.I didn't know * was multiplication.So, would I explain she is not correct because?I don't know how to answer the why part.I knew they would be different I just don't understand why.
She is not correct because the parentheses are placed differently in each problem.
Learn about the order of operations at this site.
http://www.mathsisfun.com/operation-order-pemdas.html
Thank you so much!
You're very welcome.
To determine if Greta is correct, we can apply the distributive property of multiplication over addition.
According to the distributive property, for any numbers a, b, and c, the expression a(b + c) is equal to ab + ac.
In this case, we have (2x) multiplied by (a + 5). Applying the distributive property, we get:
(2x)(a + 5) = 2x ✕ a + 2x ✕ 5
Simplifying further, we get:
2x ✕ a + 10x
So, the expression (2x ✕ a) + 10x is equivalent to 2x(a + 5).
Therefore, Greta is correct. The expression (2xa) + 5 is indeed the same as 2x(a + 5).