order of operations and algebra

Question

(3x-2y)^2

Answer 1

Rebecca, this is soooort of about order of operations. It's more about expanding your squared binomial into a trinomial.

 

(3x - 2y)² = (3x - 2y)(3x - 2y)

 

Now, we have to mutiply everything in the first set of parentheses by everything in the 2nd. The minuses turn into the signs for 2y.

 

3x(3x) + 3x(-2y) -2y(3x) - 2y(-2y)

9x² - 6xy - 6xy + 4y²

 

Our only common terms are the two -6xy's, so we combine them.

 

9x² - 12xy + 4y² is your final answer.

 

Hope this helps!