What is your fi rst step when solving x — 15 = 3 — 5 ? explain.

Well you would simplify the equation, so you would do 3-5 first. The equation should look like this: x-15=-2. If you want the final answer you would add 15 to both sides and the equation/answer should look like this: x=13. Hope that helped. Remember, if you can always simplify an equation first. Simplifying is always the number 1 step.