What is the first step in simplifying3 – b(7b + 2) + 3b – (11 – b)?

First distribute the factors outside the parentheses: multiply each term in (7b + 2) by −b, and each term in (11 − b) by −1. This gives 3 − 7b² − 2b + 3b − 11 + b. Then you can combine like terms, so the correct choice is “Distribute the −b and −1 to the terms in the parentheses.”

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