Question

How do you combine like terms in `(4+ 4i ) - ( 9+ 17i )`?

Answer 1

`-5 -13i`

Explanation:

Before combining like terms, you must remove the brackets. To do this, you must distribute the number or the sign (in this case `-`) across the numbers in the bracket.

So, after doing this, you would have

`4+4i -9-17i`

Then it is just basic combining like things (apples to apples). Add up all the variables `i`

`+4i - 17i = -13i`

Then the numbers

`4 - 9 = -5`

Therefore,

`-5 -13i`