Remember that to simplify an expression with multiple operations, we need to deal with the parenthesis first. To do it, we are going to apply the distributive property: ; in other words, we first distribute (multiply) to , and then we distribute (multiply) to .
Let's apply the property to our expression with , , and :
Now, we are going to group like terms; like terms are terms whose variables and exponents are the same, in our case, the terms with the variable
Now we just need to simplify our like terms:
We can conclude that the simplified form of the expression is .
Of the given choices A, D, E have the correct constant. D has an exponent of <em>a</em> that is too large. E has <em>a</em> in the numerator, not the denominator. So, the only viable choice is the first answer selection.
it has to be $3.46 because you have to remember that tax is included and it could cost more than what you are paying for the sandwich or drink. but the other possible answer is $3.92 if you're not paying any tax.