What is the first step in solving this equation?

Question

3(2x + 6) – 4x = 2(5x – 2) + 6

Use the subtraction property of equality to subtract 6 from both sides.
Use the addition property of equality to add 4x to both sides.
Combine the like terms on each side of the equation.
Use the distributive property on each side of the equation.

Answer 1

The first step in solving the equation \(3(2x + 6) – 4x = 2(5x – 2) + 6\) is to use the distributive property on each side of the equation.

This means you would distribute the 3 and the 2 to the terms inside the parentheses on the left and right sides, respectively.

So, the correct answer is: Use the distributive property on each side of the equation.