Which expression shows the first step in simplifying 2x – 3(x + 2y) – 5(y – 7x)?

Use the distributive property on each set of parentheses: −3(x + 2y) becomes −3x − 6y, and −5(y − 7x) becomes −5y + 35x. This gives 2x − 3x − 6y − 5y + 35x, which is choice C.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.