Six equilateral triangles are connected to create a regular hexagon. The area of the hexagon is 24a2 - 18 square units. Which is an equivalent expression for the area of the hexagon based on the area of a triangle?

6 (4a2 - 3)

6 (8a2 - 9)

6a (12a - 9)

6a (18a - 12)

The hexagon is formed from six equilateral triangles. The triangles, being equilateral forming regular hexagon, have equal areas. In this problem, to determine the expression based on the area of a triangle, factor out six from the given expression. This gives 6 (4a2 - 3). Thus, the answer is the first among the choices.