3x + 3(5x - 8) = 14x - 4
3x + 3×(5x) - 3×8 = 14x - 4
3x + 15x - 24 = 14x - 4
18x - 24 = 14x - 4
Now you could subtract 14x from both sides of the equation:
18x - 14x - 24 = 14x - 14x - 4
4x - 24 = - 4
Now we can add 24 to both sides of the equation:
4x - 24 + 24 = - 4 + 24
4x = 20
Now we can divide both sides of the equation by 4 :
(4x)/4 = 20/4
x = 5