What is the expression 4+8(3x−2)−7x when simplified? Apply the order of operations and the commutative and distributive properties. Show your work
To simplify the expression 4 + 8(3x - 2) - 7x, we follow the order of operations, which is parentheses, exponentiation, multiplication and division (from left to right), and addition and subtraction (from left to right).
First, we simplify the expression inside the parentheses: 3x - 2.
Next, we distribute the 8 to the terms inside the parentheses: 8 * 3x - 8 * 2.
This gives us: 24x - 16.
Now we can rewrite the original expression: 4 + 24x - 16 - 7x.
Let's combine like terms: (24x - 7x) + (4 - 16).
This gives us: 17x - 12.
Therefore, the simplified expression is 17x - 12.