Which of the following expressions is equivalent to a(4 − a) − 5(a + 7)

Which of the following expressions is equivalent to a(4 − a) − 5(a + 7)?

1. −2a − 35
2. −2a + 07
3. −a² − a − 35
4. −a² − a + 7
5. −2a³ − 35

Answer

The correct answer is C.

The correct approach for this problem is to first distribute a and then combine the two a-terms. Doing so, we get

a(4 − a) − 5(a + 7) = 4a − a² − 5a − 35

= −a² − a − 35

Remember, you can only combine terms with identical variable parts.