Question

consider this equation:

4(3x - 2) = -24

Correctly order the steps used to solve this equation

Answer 1

To solve the equation \( 4(3x - 2) = -24 \), we can follow these steps:

1. **Distribute the 4 on the left side:**
\[
4 \cdot 3x - 4 \cdot 2 = -24
\]
This simplifies to:
\[
12x - 8 = -24
\]

2. **Add 8 to both sides to isolate the term with \( x \):**
\[
12x - 8 + 8 = -24 + 8
\]
This simplifies to:
\[
12x = -16
\]

3. **Divide both sides by 12 to solve for \( x \):**
\[
\frac{12x}{12} = \frac{-16}{12}
\]
This simplifies to:
\[
x = -\frac{4}{3}
\]

In summary, the correctly ordered steps are:
1. Distribute the 4.
2. Add 8 to both sides.
3. Divide by 12 to solve for \( x \).