What is the expression 4+8(3x-2)-7x when simplified. Apply the order of operations and the commutative and distributive properties.

1 answer

To simplify the expression \( 4 + 8(3x - 2) - 7x \), we will first apply the distributive property and then combine like terms.

  1. Distribute the \( 8 \) into the expression \( 8(3x - 2) \):

    \[ 8(3x - 2) = 8 \cdot 3x - 8 \cdot 2 = 24x - 16 \]

  2. Substitute back into the original expression:

    \[ 4 + (24x - 16) - 7x \]

  3. Combine the constants and the terms with \( x \):

    \[ 4 - 16 = -12 \]

    \[ 24x - 7x = 17x \]

  4. Putting it all together:

    The simplified expression is:

    \[ 17x - 12 \]

Therefore, the expression \( 4 + 8(3x - 2) - 7x \) simplifies to \( \boxed{17x - 12} \).