- #1
Holocene
- 237
- 0
I’m currently on working on solving linear equations, and I’m having some trouble understanding whether a minus sign is actually separating two terms, or if it is actually part of the term.
Here’s something that snagged me, it’s the left member of the equation:
[tex]\displaystyle{7(2x - 3) - 4(x + 5)}[/tex]
Regarding the minus sign just before the “4”, should I think of that as “separating” the two terms, or should I think of it as actually being a part of the term, and hence the value is -4?
I keep wanting to write: [tex]\displaystyle{14x - 21 - 4x + 20}[/tex], but apparently this is false.
It should be [tex]\displaystyle{14x - 21 - 4x - 20}[/tex]
I’m just confused, because I clearly remember a rule stating that when subtracting a term, every sign has to change. For example:
[tex]\displaystyle{(7 - 3) - (2 - 1) = 7 - 3 - 2 + 1}[/tex]
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Here’s something that snagged me, it’s the left member of the equation:
[tex]\displaystyle{7(2x - 3) - 4(x + 5)}[/tex]
Regarding the minus sign just before the “4”, should I think of that as “separating” the two terms, or should I think of it as actually being a part of the term, and hence the value is -4?
I keep wanting to write: [tex]\displaystyle{14x - 21 - 4x + 20}[/tex], but apparently this is false.
It should be [tex]\displaystyle{14x - 21 - 4x - 20}[/tex]
I’m just confused, because I clearly remember a rule stating that when subtracting a term, every sign has to change. For example:
[tex]\displaystyle{(7 - 3) - (2 - 1) = 7 - 3 - 2 + 1}[/tex]
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Last edited: