Deepak wrote out the steps to his solution of the equation 5 halves minus 3 x minus 5 plus 4 x is equal to negative 7 fourths Deepak's Solution Steps Resulting equations 1 Use the distributive property to simplify. 5 halves minus 5 plus 4 x minus 3 x is equal to negative 7 fourths 2 Simplify by combining like terms. negative 5 halves plus x is equal to negative 7 fourths 3 Use the addition property of equality. negative 5 halves plus 5 halves plus x is equal to negative 7 fourths plus 5 halves 4 Use multiplication to find equivalent fractions. negative 5 halves plus 5 halves plus x is equal to negative 7 fourths plus 10 fourths 5 Simplify by combining like terms. x is equal to 3 fourths Which step has an incorrect instruction?
Step 1 rearranges the terms and puts like terms together; it does not use the distributive property, which involves multiplying across parentheses. The resulting equation is equivalent to the original, but the instruction for Step 1 is incorrect. The correct choice is Step 1.
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