College

Consider this equation:

\[ 7.8 + 2(0.75m + 0.4) = -6.4m + 4(0.5m - 0.8) \]

Follow the steps to simplify the left side of the equation by using the distributive property and combining like terms.

1. Distribute the 2:
\[ 7.8 + 1.5m + 0.8 \]

2. Combine like terms:
\[ 8.6 + 1.5m \]

Use the same steps to simplify the right side of the equation. What would it simplify to?

Answer :

Certainly! Let's simplify the right side of the equation step-by-step using the distributive property and combining like terms.

The original equation is:
[tex]\[ 7.8 + 2(0.75m + 0.4) = -6.4m + 4(0.5m - 0.8) \][/tex]

We need to simplify the right side: [tex]\(-6.4m + 4(0.5m - 0.8)\)[/tex].

1. Distribute the 4 across the terms within the parentheses:
- For the term [tex]\(4(0.5m)\)[/tex]: Multiply 4 by [tex]\(0.5m\)[/tex], which gives us [tex]\(2m\)[/tex].
- For the term [tex]\(4(-0.8)\)[/tex]: Multiply 4 by [tex]\(-0.8\)[/tex], which gives us [tex]\(-3.2\)[/tex].

After distributing, the expression becomes:
[tex]\[-6.4m + 2m - 3.2\][/tex]

2. Combine like terms:
- Combine the [tex]\(m\)[/tex] terms: [tex]\(-6.4m + 2m\)[/tex] comes to [tex]\(-4.4m\)[/tex].

So, after combining like terms, the simplified expression is:
[tex]\[-4.4m - 3.2\][/tex]

There you have it—this is the simplified version of the right side of the equation: [tex]\(-4.4m - 3.2\)[/tex].