The amount of flour you need is (2\(\frac{1}{2}\) - \(\frac{1}{4}\)) cups. Rewrite the quantities so they share a common denominator and subtract:

(\( \frac{20}{8} \) - \( \frac{2}{8} \)) cups
\( \frac{18}{8} \) cups
2\(\frac{1}{4}\) cups

To multiply terms with exponents, the base of both exponents must be the same. In this case they are so multiply the coefficients and add the exponents:

-8x⁷ x 9x⁵
(-8 x 9)x^{(7 + 5)}
-72x¹²

To add these fractions, first find the lowest common multiple of their denominators. The first few multiples of 3 are [3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30] and the first few multiples of 9 are [9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, 72, 81, 90]. The first few multiples they share are [9, 18, 27, 36, 45] making 9 the smallest multiple 3 and 9 share.

Next, convert the fractions so each denominator equals the lowest common multiple:

\( \frac{8 x 3}{3 x 3} \) + \( \frac{2 x 1}{9 x 1} \)

\( \frac{24}{9} \) + \( \frac{2}{9} \)

Now, because the fractions share a common denominator, you can add them:

\( \frac{24 + 2}{9} \) = \( \frac{26}{9} \) = 2\(\frac{8}{9}\)

55% of the water consumption is industrial use and 25% is personal use so (55% - 25%) = 30% more water is used for industrial purposes. 15,000 gallons are consumed daily so industry consumes \( \frac{30}{100} \) x 15,000 gallons = 4,500 gallons.

Use PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multipy/Divide, Add/Subtract):

2 + (5 + 2) ÷ 5 x 2 - 4²
P: 2 + (7) ÷ 5 x 2 - 4²
E: 2 + 7 ÷ 5 x 2 - 16
MD: 2 + \( \frac{7}{5} \) x 2 - 16
MD: 2 + \( \frac{14}{5} \) - 16
AS: \( \frac{10}{5} \) + \( \frac{14}{5} \) - 16
AS: \( \frac{24}{5} \) - 16
AS: \( \frac{24 - 80}{5} \)
\( \frac{-56}{5} \)
-11\(\frac{1}{5}\)