Question

How do you simplify the expression `2 - 8(-7 + x)+ 5x`?

Answer 1

`58-3x`

Explanation:

`2-8(-7+x)+5x`

`=2+56-8x+5x` expand brackets

`=58-3x` collect like terms

Answer 2

`-3x + 58`

Explanation:

First, we use the distributive property to multiply/expand `-8(-7+x)`:
`-8 * -7 = 56`
`-8 * x = -8x`

Now let's put that back into the expression:
`2 + 56 - 8x + 5x`

Now we can simplify by combining like terms:
`58 - 3x`

We usually write expressions with the variable first, so I'm going to rewrite it that way:
`-3x + 58`

Hope this helps!