Question

Ms. Peterson wrote the expression below on the chalkboard for her class. She asked the students to write an equivalent expression using no more than one set of parentheses. 4(3x + 5y + 2z) + 3(x-z)

Tom wrote 12x + 20y + 8z 
Jenna wrote 5(3x + 4y + z)
Chris wrote 15x + 20y − 5z 
Which, if any, of the three students wrote an expression that is equivalent to Ms. Peterson’s expression?

Answer 1

The answer would be Jenna's answer. If you distribute the teachers original expression you get 15x + 20y + 5. If you distribute Jenna's answer you get just that.