Question

What should be the first step to solve the equation?

2x + 9(x - 1) = 8(2x + 2) - 5

A. Combine like terms on each side of the equation.

B. Use the distributive property on each side of the equation.

C. Use the subtraction property of equality to subtract 5 from each side of the equation.

D. Use the addition property of equality to add 2x to each side of the equation.

Answer 1

B.

Explanation:

You will need to get rid of the parenthesis to make the problem easier for you to work with. Since there is a number in front of the parenthesis, you will need to distribute that to both numbers in the parenthesis.

For this example, you would multiply the 9 to both the x and -1, and then 8 to both 2x and 2.