Simplifying the Expression: (12x - 5) - (7x - 11)
This article will guide you through simplifying the expression (12x - 5) - (7x - 11).
Understanding the Expression
The expression involves parentheses, variables, and constants. To simplify it, we need to apply the distributive property and combine like terms.
Applying the Distributive Property
The minus sign before the second parenthesis indicates that we need to distribute it to both terms inside. This means multiplying each term inside the second parenthesis by -1.
The expression becomes:
(12x - 5) + (-1 * 7x) + (-1 * -11)
Simplifying this further:
(12x - 5) - 7x + 11
Combining Like Terms
Now we combine the terms with 'x' and the constant terms separately:
(12x - 7x) + (-5 + 11)
This simplifies to:
5x + 6
Final Result
Therefore, the simplified form of the expression (12x - 5) - (7x - 11) is 5x + 6.