Which expression is equivalent to ( 2 w − 3 ) + 4.5 ( w − 1 ) ?

Answer 1

( 2 w − 3 ) + 4.5 ( w − 1 ) 

To simplify, we will first use the distributive property to multiply 4.5 and (w-1). To do this, we multiply 4.5 to each term of (w-1), which would then leave us with:

( 2 w − 3 ) + (4.5 w − 4.5)

Now, since addition and subtraction are associated with the same 'order of operation', we can remove the parenthesis and combine like terms (by adding together the terms containing a 'w' variable and those without:

2 w − 3 + 4.5 w − 4.5

2 w + 4.5 w - 3 - 4.5

6.5 w - 7.5 is the equivalent expression written in the simplest terms!