What is the first step in simplifying the expression (2-3•4+5)^2 ? (1) square 5
(2) add 4 and 5
(3) subtract 3 from 2
(4) multiply 3 by 4

The answer is (4)- multiply 3 by 4.

The following is the correct order of steps to simplify an expression.

1.) Parenthesis
2.) Exponents
3.) Multiply and Divide left to right
4.) Add and Subtract left to right.

Since there are parenthesis in the expression, you must do whatever is inside before anything else.

Inside the parenthesis, there is a subtraction, multiplication, and addition. Since multiplication comes before addition and subtraction in the order of operations, you must do that first. Therefore, the correct answer is multiply 3 by 4.