Working with negative exponents #steps

Two fire-lookout stations are 190 miles apart, with station a directly south of station b. both stations spot a fire. the bearing of the fire from station a is upper n 55 degrees upper e and the bearing of the fire from station b is upper s 60 degrees e. how far, to the nearest tenth of a mile, is the fire from each lookout station?

The jewelry store is having a sale. necklaces that were regularly priced at $23.50 are on sale for $18.80. what is the percentage of decrease in the price of necklaces?

What is the expression in factored form? 225x^2 - 144 a. 9(5x+4)^2 b. 9(5x-4)^2 c. 9(4x+5)(4x-5) d. 9(5x+4)(5x-4)