Simplifying Polynomial Expressions
This article will guide you through the process of simplifying the following polynomial expression:
(-2y^5 + y^3 - 2y) - (y^5 - 4y^3 + 6)
Understanding the Steps
- Distribute the negative sign: The minus sign in front of the second set of parentheses indicates that we need to multiply each term inside the parentheses by -1.
- Combine like terms: Once the negative sign is distributed, we can combine terms with the same variable and exponent.
Simplifying the Expression
Let's apply these steps to our expression:
- Distribute the negative sign:
- (-2y^5 + y^3 - 2y) + (-1 * y^5) + (-1 * -4y^3) + (-1 * 6)
- -2y^5 + y^3 - 2y - y^5 + 4y^3 - 6
- Combine like terms:
- (-2y^5 - y^5) + (y^3 + 4y^3) - 2y - 6
- -3y^5 + 5y^3 - 2y - 6
The Simplified Expression
Therefore, the simplified form of the polynomial expression (-2y^5 + y^3 - 2y) - (y^5 - 4y^3 + 6) is -3y^5 + 5y^3 - 2y - 6.