Let's go through your friend's steps to identify any errors in solving the equation \( 7x + 2 = 73x - 8 \):
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Starting Equation:
\( 7x + 2 = 73x - 8 \) -
Their Step:
\( 7(x) + 2 = 7(3x) - 8 \)Here, your friend wrongly rewrote \( 73x \) as \( 7(3x) \). The correct expression is \( 73x \), which does not factor into \( 7(3x) \).
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Continuing with: \( 7x + 2 = 21x - 8 \)
This step is also incorrect due to the previous mistake. -
Resulting Equation: \( 10 = 14x \)
This also is incorrect as it builds on the previous flawed calculations. -
Final Calculation: \( x = 57 \)
Because the earlier steps were incorrect, this solution is not valid.
In summary, the process followed by your friend contains a mistake in factorization and distribution at the second step. Therefore, the correct response is:
This is not correct. The 7 needs to be distributed across all terms when solving.