Question

Use the distributive property and mental math to simplify the expression. $$ 6 x^{2}-4 x^{2} $$

Short answer

The simplified expression is \(2x^{2}\).

Step-by-step solution

Identify Like-Terms

The goal is to simplify the expression. Look for like-terms to combine. Here, \(6x^{2}\) and \(-4x^{2}\) are like-terms because they both contain the variable \(x^{2}\).

Combine Like-Terms

Now, apply the distributive property to combine these like terms. This is done by subtracting the coefficients. The coefficient of \(6x^{2}\) is 6 and of \(-4x^{2}\) is -4. Subtract -4 from 6 to get 2.

Final Simplified Expression

The simplified expression becomes \(2x^{2}\) as a result. Remember, when combining like-terms, the variable part (\(x^{2}\)) stays the same. You only add or subtract the coefficients.