Question

Nancy and Kevin collect coins. Nancy has x coins. Kevin has 9 coins fewer than five times the number of coins Nancy has. Write and simplify an expression for the total number of coins Nancy and Kevin have.

Answer 1

Answer:

x + (5x-9)

Step-by-step explanation:

x stands for the number of coins Nancy has

Kevin has 9 less than 5 times what Nancy has, so his part of the expression is 5x-9

To find the total number of coins they have, you have to add Nancy's number of coins x plus Kevin's number of coins 5x-9

x + (5x-9)

But you have to put parentheses around Kevin's 5x-9 so that part of the expression is calculated first, as per order of operations