Question

Jay simplify the expression 3x( 3+12÷3)

-4 over his first step he added 3+12 to get 15 what was jays error? Find the correct answer

Answer 1

distribute 3x through all the numbers in () then solve for x and you get 21x-4

Answer 2

Hello there!

To simplify this expression, you must follow PEMDAS.

3x(3+12÷3) parentheses first
3x(3+4) do the division
3x(7) addition inside of parentheses
21x multiplication

This means that Jay is incorrect in doing addition first.

I really hope this helps!
Best wishes :)