Which of the following answers applies the distributive property of multiplication over addition correctly for simplifying 23 - 9 (2x + 5) + 11x

1 answer

To simplify the expression \( 23 - 9(2x + 5) + 11x \) using the distributive property of multiplication over addition, you need to apply the distributive property to the term \( -9(2x + 5) \).

  1. First, apply the distributive property to \( -9(2x + 5) \): \[ -9(2x) - 9(5) = -18x - 45 \]

  2. Now, replace \( -9(2x + 5) \) in the original expression with the result: \[ 23 - 18x - 45 + 11x \]

  3. Combine like terms:

    • Start with the constant terms: \( 23 - 45 = -22 \)
    • Combine the \( x \) terms: \( -18x + 11x = -7x \)

Putting it all together, the simplified expression is: \[ -7x - 22 \]

So, the correct application of the distributive property in simplifying \( 23 - 9(2x + 5) + 11x \) leads to the answer \( -7x - 22 \).