Simplify the following expression by combining like terms:

Begin by looking for terms to combine. In this case, we only have 2 terms we can combine. Remember, we can only combine terms that have the same exponent and variable.

In this case, the green colors are the only ones which can be combined:

So our answer is:

Because we are only multiplying terms in the numerator, we can disregard the parentheses.

To combine like terms in the numerator, we add their exponents.

To combine like terms between the numerator and denominator, subtract the denominator exponent from the numerator exponent.

Remember that any negative exponents stay in the denominator.

If the original price of the T-shirt is , increasing the price by 50% means that the new price is 150% of , or .

If the price is then decreased by 50%, the new price is 50% of

or

The ratio of to is then:

The 's in the numerator and denominator cancel, leaving , or

.

Simplify the following expression by combining like terms:

Begin by looking for terms to combine. In this case, we only have 2 terms we can combine. Remember, we can only combine terms that have the same exponent and variable.

In this case, the green colors are the only ones which can be combined:

So our answer is:

This is not a FOIL problem, as we are adding rather than multiplying the terms in parentheses.

Add like terms to solve.

and have no like terms and cannot be combined with anything.

5 and -5 can be combined however:

This leaves us with .

This is not a FOIL problem, as we are adding rather than multiplying the terms in parentheses.

Add like terms to solve.

and have no like terms and cannot be combined with anything.

5 and -5 can be combined however:

This leaves us with .

When multiplying an odd number of negatives, the answer is negative.

When multiplying an even number of negatives, the answer is positive.

Let us call x the smallest integer. Because the next two numbers are consecutive even integers, we can call represent them as x + 2 and x + 4. We are told the sum of x, x+2, and x+4 is equal to 72.

x + (x + 2) + (x + 4) = 72

3x + 6 = 72

3x = 66

x = 22.

This means that the integers are 22, 24, and 26. The question asks us for the product of these numbers, which is 22(24)(26) = 13728.

The answer is 13728.

A quadratic trinomial is a perfect square if and only if takes the form

for some values of and .

, so

and .

For to be a perfect square, it must hold that

,

so . This is the correct choice.

Let us call x the smallest integer. Because the next two numbers are consecutive even integers, we can call represent them as x + 2 and x + 4. We are told the sum of x, x+2, and x+4 is equal to 72.

x + (x + 2) + (x + 4) = 72

3x + 6 = 72

3x = 66

x = 22.

This means that the integers are 22, 24, and 26. The question asks us for the product of these numbers, which is 22(24)(26) = 13728.

The answer is 13728.