On my homework the instructions are to use the commutative and associative properties to simplify each expression. The word simplify does not mean to solve the problem, correct? If the instructions are to simplify 8+(9+b) then the answer would be 72+8b simplified. Right?

Linda owns a small online business selling cell phone protectors. It costs Linda $15 to produce a single protector and ship it to a customer, so if Linda sells her protectors for p dollars each, she makes a profit of p – 15 dollars for each protector she sells. Last month, Linda's company made a total profit of – 600p + 19200p – 153000 dollars. Write an expression representing the number of protectors sold last month. (Hint: Total profit = (profit per item sold) x (total items sold))

What is the problem? Sophia buys a supply of toilet paper from Costco that comes in a pack of 36. She immediately gives 4 rolls of toilet paper to her sister (who shared with her last month). She uses 2 rolls of toilet paper per month (a)Write an expression that represents the situation. (b)Determine how many rolls of toilet paper she will have left after 1 year.

Professor Johnson wrote the expression below on the chalkboard for his team at the Research Center. He asked the scientists there to write an equivalent expression that eliminated the parentheses.   3(4x + 6y + 2z) + 4(x – z)