Not understanding how this solution ends up negative!

[j_aubrey]

Hello everyone,


I can't for the life of me figure out how

4 – (x² + 4x + 4)simplifies to

–x²– 4x
Specifically, how does the 4x end up becoming negative? Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[stapel]

I can't for the life of me figure out how

4 – (x² + 4x + 4)simplifies to

–x²– 4x
Specifically, how does the 4x end up becoming negative?

To learn how to simplify with parentheses, try here. As that lesson will show, it can be very helpful to explicitly write out the implicit "1" in front of the parentheses:

. . . . .4 - 1(x² + 4x + 4) = 4 - 1(x²) - 1(4x) - 1(4) = 4 - x² - 4x - 4

...and so forth.

 

[j_aubrey]

Got it! Thanks so much guys!