Hi John,

Let's take a look at a simple example: 3(2x + 4). In this example, you would use the distributive property, so it would look something like this: (3 * 2x) + (3 * 4). 3 * 2x is equal to 6x, and 3*4 equals 12, so your final answer would be 6x + 12, since x represents an unknown.

Now, if you have a problem that looks like this: -(4x + 7), the negative sign in front of the parentheses basically stands for a -1 (since there is no number with it, we can assume it is -1). Again, we need to go back to the distributive property: (-1 * 4x) + (-1 * 7). -1 * 4x equals -4x, and -1 * 7 equals -7, so the final answer would be -4x - 7.

If you would like a video reference that explains this, I would recommend this one: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/x2f8bb11595b61c86:solve-equations-inequalities/x2f8bb11595b61c86:linear-equations-parentheses/v/solving-equations-with-the-distributive-property

I hope this helps!

Thank you! Much appreciated.