Distribute and simplify 2(a - 5) + 3a.

Distribute and simplify 2(a - 5) + 3a.

• A. 5a + 2
• B. 6a - 10
• C. 5a - 10
• D. 5a - 5

Answer: (C)

Distributing and combining like terms. Use the distributive property: multiply 2 by each term inside the parentheses, so 2(a - 5) becomes 2a - 10. Then bring in the 3a term and combine like terms: 2a + 3a = 5a. The constant term remains -10, giving the final simplified expression 5a - 10. A common slip is misapplying the distribution or not combining the a-terms, which can lead to results that look like 5a + 2, 6a - 10, or 5a - 5, but the correct work steps produce 5a - 10.

Distributing and combining like terms. Use the distributive property: multiply 2 by each term inside the parentheses, so 2(a - 5) becomes 2a - 10. Then bring in the 3a term and combine like terms: 2a + 3a = 5a. The constant term remains -10, giving the final simplified expression 5a - 10. A common slip is misapplying the distribution or not combining the a-terms, which can lead to results that look like 5a + 2, 6a - 10, or 5a - 5, but the correct work steps produce 5a - 10.