How do you combine like terms in $2 (a + 4) + 3 a$ $2( a + 4) + 3a$ ?

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Answer 1 · 2018-04-07T21:30:03

Here's how I did it:

$2 (a + 4) + 3 a$ $2(a+4) + 3a$

First, we need to distribute (multiply) the $2$ $2$ $(a + 4)$ $(a+4)$ :
$2 \cdot a = 2 a$ $2 * a = 2a$

$2 \cdot 4 = 8$ $2 * 4 = 8$

Let's put this back into the expression:
$2 a + 8 + 3 a$ $2a + 8 + 3a$

To combine like terms, let's first highlight the like terms:
$2 a + 8 + 3 a$ $color(red)(2a) + 8 + color(red)(3a)$

Now we just add $2 a$ $2a$ and $3 a$ $3a$ and write the final expression:
$5 a + 8$ $5a + 8$

Hope this helps!

How do you combine like terms in 2( a + 4) + 3a2(a+4)+3a2( a + 4) + 3a?