The first step in solving the equation \( 9.8 (x - 2.14) = 53.9 \) is to isolate the term containing \( x \).
You can do this by dividing both sides of the equation by \( 9.8 \):
\[ x - 2.14 = \frac{53.9}{9.8} \]
After performing this division, you can then solve for \( x \).