Simplify the expression below. 12a−8−5a+12

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Simplify the expression below.
12a−8−5a+12

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  2. Answer:

    7a + 4

    Step-by-step explanation:

    First, let’s rewrite this expression to combine like terms:

    12a – 8 – 5a + 12  — I bolded the constants and underlined the expressions with variables

    12a – 5a – 8 + 12  — it looks a little easier regrouped, doesn’t it?

    The last two terms are easy, right?

    12 – 8 = 4  — simplify with subtraction

    We’ll focus on the first two terms now. Let’s rewrite the terms with variables attached to make the subtraction easier:

    a(12 – 5) = a(7) = 7a

    We could also think of it this way: multiplication is just repeated addition.

    12a = a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a (we just add a to itself 12 times)

    5a = a + a + a + a + a (we just add a to itself 5 times)

    Subtracting this expression would then look like this:

    a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a – (a + a + a + a + a)

    a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a – a – a – a – a – a

    Five of the a values will cancel out, and to show this, we can rewrite the expression once more, like this:

    a – a + a – a + a – a + a – a + a – a + a + a + a + a + a + a + a

    The five a values cancel out and leave us with this:

    a + a + a + a + a + a + a

    How many a values are added together now? Seven of them, right? We add a to itself 7 times. We can then rewrite that expression as 7a.

    Using the [12 – 8 = 4] expression from above, we add the 4 to the 7a to find our final answer: 7a + 4

    I hope this helps increase your understanding of the concept! Have a great day!

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