Algebra Practice Test: Prep & Practice Questions for Exam Readiness

The simplification of the expression 7 - 2(5 - 2x) involves using the distributive property and subtraction.

First, we apply the distributive property to the term -2(5 - 2x). This means multiplying -2 by both terms inside the parentheses. Calculating this yields -10 + 4x. Now the expression becomes 7 - 10 + 4x. The second step involves combining the constant terms, which is a subtraction operation, resulting in -3 + 4x.

Thus, the operations involved in this process are primarily the distribution of -2 across the terms in the parentheses and then the subtraction that combines the constants. Hence, the correct identification of the operations used is the distributive property and subtraction.