Question

Pls help- with this homework question..

Raise a to the 2nd power, then find the difference of the result and 9.

Answer 1

Answer: a² - 9

Explanation:

We are given to raise a to the 2nd power: a²

Then to find the difference of that and 9: a² - 9

We cannot simplify this expression until we know what "a" is.

We can factor this as it's a difference of squares. Factoring gives us (a - 3)(a + 3).