Question

S

Answer 1

what came before step one?

Answer 2

too hard to go through all this, i get confused
so lets do it this way
step 1: commutative law, symbols changed places
step 2: associative law, parentheses are introduced
step 3: distributive property to turn \(7x-2x\) in to \(x(7-2)\)
step 4: arithmetic
step 5: commutative law to turn \(x(5)\) in to \(5x\)

Answer 3

so i guess the second one looks good

Answer 4

btw there is no such mathematical operation or law as "simplification"
just thought i would mention it