Expand and simplify -(x-3)^2

Answer 1

-(x-3)^2

raising to a power comes before taking the opposite according to the order of operations

-[x^2-6x+9]

-x^2+6x-9 is the expanded and simplified form

Answer 2

1. Distribute the negative which gives us (-x+3)^2
2. This can be rewritten as: (-x+3)(-x+3)
3. Now we use FOIL(First, Outer, Inner, Last) to solve:
4. First=x^2
5. Outer=-3x
6. Inner=-3x
7. Last=9
8. Simplifying gives us: x^2-6x+9
9. Solving the quadratic would give us x=3