Final answer:
Meredith applied the Distributive Property as her first step.
Step-by-step explanation:
Meredith applied the Distributive Property as her first step. The Distributive Property states that you can distribute a number or variable to each term inside a set of parentheses. In this case, Meredith distributed the 3 to both the x and -2 inside the parentheses by multiplying, which resulted in 7x + 3x - 6 = 14.