Question

HELP

(07.02 MC)

An equation is shown below:

5(3x − 4) = 1

Which of the following correctly shows the first two steps to solve this equation? (1 point)

Group of answer choices

Step 1: 8x + 1 = 1; Step 2: 8x = 0

Step 1: 8x − 9 = 1; Step 2: 8x = 10

Step 1: 15x − 20 = 1; Step 2: 15x = 21

Step 1: 15x − 4 = 1; Step 2: 15x = 5

Answer 1

9514 1404 393

Answer:

(C) Step 1: 15x − 20 = 1; Step 2: 15x = 21

Explanation:

The first step is to eliminate the parentheses, using the distributive property.

5(3x − 4) = 1

15x -20 = 1

The second step is to add 20 to both sides of the equation.

15x = 21

This pair of steps is shown in the 3rd choice.

_____

Comment on the answers

The distributive property seems to be applied incorrectly a lot of the time. Here, you can choose the correct answer by looking at the result of properly applying the distributive property: 5(3x-4) = 15x-20. Only the correct choice has this as the first step.