Removing brackets is to multiply the term outside the brackets by each term inside - also known as the distributive law. Use FOIL to remove a pair of brackets then simplify by collecting like terms.

Two of the terms involve \(x\) and two involve \(y\). Now we can combine the \(x\) terms and combine the \(y\) terms to get \(3x + 2y\).

Courtney Gibbons is affiliated with the Association for Women in Mathematics and the American Mathematical Society. You might remember learning about the quadratic formula to figure out the solutions ...

You scrambled up a Rubik's cube, and now you want to put it back in order. What sequence of moves should you make? Surprise: You can answer this question with modern algebra. Most folks who have been ...