I suppose "little 2" means "to the second power" right?

If so, I can perhaps help out, if not -- you're some Alien from Planet X

42) (8a-10a) (8a-10a) + 2 , to solve, use the distributive property to get rid of parentheses:

Long Way= 64a^2 - 80a^2 -80a^2 +100a^2 = 164a^2 - 160a^2 +2 = 4a^2 +2

43) 3x^2 + 5x -4 + 5x^3

= (5x)(5x)(5x) + (3x)(3x) +( 5x) + (-4)

= 125x^3 + 9x^2 + 5x -4

48) 3s^2 + 12s^2 + 6

=(3s)(3s) + (12s)(12s) + 6

=9s^2 + 144s^2 + 6

=conbine like terms : 9s^2 + 144s^2 = 153s^2

= 153s^2 + 6

Is the little 2 that you refer to a subscript or a superscript?