Final answer:
To generate an expression equivalent to 15 + (-3)(x + 4), distribute -3 to both x and 4, then combine like terms to get 3 - 3x
Step-by-step explanation:
To generate an expression that is equivalent to 15 + (-3)(x + 4), we can use the distributed property of multiplication over addition. This property states that when multiplying a number by a sum, we can distribute the multiplication to each term within the sum.
So, we can distribute -3 to both x and 4:
15 + (-3)(x + 4) = 15 + (-3x) + (-3)(4)
Which simplifies to:
15 - 3x - 12
Combining like terms gives us the final expression:
3 - 3x