Charlotte's Responses in WyzAnt Answers

When simplifying an expression, go through the Order of Operations. 

This will help keep you from getting confused.

Original problem                                                                 5y + 3(y-3) - 15/y - 3

Parentheses - There are no like terms inside the

                       parentheses so there is nothing to simplify.

Exponents - There are no exponents.

Multiplication - Use the distributive property to

                        multiply 3(y-3)                                           5y + 3y - 9 - 15/y - 3  

Division - 15/y can't be simplified because there

                are no like terms

Addition  & Subtraction              Combine y variables           8y - 9 - 15/y - 3

                                                   Combine whole numbers    8y - 12 - 15/y

Hope this helps. :)

*Special Note - This explanation is based on the problem as it was presented.

If the 15 was divided by (y-3) instead of just (y), the answer

would be very different.