Question

last week jean ran 2 fewer than 4m miles. this week she ran 0.5 miles more than last week. write and simplify an expression for the total number of miles jean ran in the two weeks.

Explanation:

Step1: Define last week's miles

Last week, Jean ran \( 4m - 2 \) miles (since 2 fewer than \( 4m \)).

Step2: Define this week's miles

This week, she ran \( (4m - 2)+ 0.5=4m - 1.5 \) miles (0.5 more than last week).

Step3: Calculate total miles

Total miles = last week + this week = \( (4m - 2)+(4m - 1.5) \).
Simplify: \( 4m - 2 + 4m - 1.5 = 8m - 3.5 \).

Answer:

The expression for the total miles is \( 8m - 3.5 \).