Answer:
C: Distribute (multiply) the parenthesis
Explanation:
You want to know the first step to solve the equation ...
2(3x -4) -5x = 2
Simplify
Usually a good first step is to completely simplify the equation. This would be done by using the distributive property to eliminate parentheses, then combining like terms.
6x -8 -5x = 2 . . . . . . . . multiply the content of parentheses by 2
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Additional comment
The next steps are ...
x -8 = 2 . . . . . . . combine like terms
x = 10 . . . . . . . . . add 8 to both sides
y = 3(10) -4 = 26 . . . . . use the expression for y to find y
(x, y) = (10, 26) . . . . . . . . . . . . summarize the solution
2(26) -5(10) = 2 . . . . . . true. Check the answer.
Adding 5x to both sides will eliminate the 5x term from the left, but will put a 5x term on the right. That is not a useful step for making one "x" term.
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