Final Answer:
1. -2(x-3) = 44
2. -2x + 6 = 44
3. -2x = 38
4. x = -19
Step-by-step explanation:
1. The student begins by distributing the -2 outside the parentheses to both terms inside: -2 * x = -2x and -2 * (-3) = +6. This yields -2x + 6 = 44.
2. Next, the student isolates the term with x by subtracting 6 from both sides of the equation: -2x + 6 - 6 = 44 - 6, resulting in -2x = 38.
3. To solve for x, the student divides both sides of the equation by the coefficient of x, which is -2. This gives x = 38 / (-2), leading to x = -19.
The steps show the process of simplifying the equation by applying inverse operations to isolate x on one side of the equation. Distributing, combining like terms, and performing inverse operations (addition/subtraction and multiplication/division) in sequence helps solve