Question

Meredith is solving the equation 7x + 3(x - 2) = 14. Her first step is shown as:

a) Associative Property
b) Distributive Property
c) Commutative Property
d) Inverse Property

Answer 1

The Distributive Property should be applied to solve the equation 7x + 3(x - 2) = 14. Distribute the 3 to both terms inside the parentheses and combine like terms.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer is b) Distributive Property.

To solve the equation 7x + 3(x - 2) = 14, you need to apply the Distributive Property. It states that when a number is multiplied by a sum, you can distribute the multiplication to each term inside the parentheses. In this case, you need to multiply the 3 by both x and -2, giving you:

7x + 3x - 6 = 14

Now you can combine like terms:

10x - 6 = 14

To continue solving the equation, you would eliminate the constant term (-6) by adding 6 to both sides, and then divide both sides by the coefficient of x (10) to isolate x.