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This Simplification question develops accurate interpretation and stepwise calculation for “Simplify: 25^2 - 15^2”. The explanation preserves the original mathematical conditions, verifies 400, and identifies common errors involving signs, brackets, operation order, factors, remainders or fraction handling. The verified result is 400.
The question-specific working recorded with the item is: Applying BODMAS to 25^2 - 15^2 gives 400.. The distractors 450, 500, 550 may arise from changing the order of operations, mishandling a negative sign, using an incorrect reciprocal, ignoring a divisibility condition, or rounding an exact value.
FAQ
Common questions and clear answers for this topic.
Apply BODMAS: brackets, orders, division and multiplication from left to right, then addition and subtraction.
400, option A.
Changing operation order, losing a sign, or simplifying a factor where cancellation is invalid.
Substitute it back, estimate its magnitude, or recompute using an equivalent form.
Simplification involves solving mathematical expressions using BODMAS rule. BODMAS stands for: Brackets, Orders (powers and roots), Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction. The rule determines the order in which operations are performed. Simplification is a major topic in SSC CGL Tier 1, IBPS Clerk, SBI Clerk, Railway Group D, and all competitive exams.
Important properties for Simplification: Squares up to 30, Cubes up to 15, Square roots of perfect squares up to 400, Multiplication tables up to 20. Also remember: a squared - b squared = (a+b)(a-b), (a+b) squared = a squared + 2ab + b squared, (a-b) squared = a squared - 2ab + b squared, a cubed + b cubed = (a+b)(a squared - ab + b squared). Memorizing these speeds up simplification in exams.
