Which is a reasonable first step that can be used to solve the equation 4 x plus 3 times open paren x plus 2 close paren is equal to 5 times open paren 2 x minus 3 close paren ?

A good first step is to distribute the factors outside the parentheses: 3(x + 2) becomes 3x + 6, and 5(2x − 3) becomes 10x − 15. This removes the parentheses so the like terms can be combined afterward. Therefore, the reasonable first step is to distribute 3 and 5.

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