
Travis A. answered 09/23/12
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-5n2-16

Samantha D.
asked 09/23/12combining like terms (subtracting)
Travis A. answered 09/23/12
Easy-to-Understand Math and Physics Tutor
-5n2-16
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Travis A.
First you distribute the minus sign into the terms in the second set of parenthesis:
3n2-4n+1-8n2+4n-17
Then you group the n's together by power:
3n2-8n2-4n+4n+1-17
Then you combine the terms for each:
(3-8)n2+(-4+4)n+(1-17)
Once you do the addition/subtraction for each term you end up with the answer:
-5n2-16
09/23/12