Elena began to solve this equation: 12x +6(4x + 3) = 6(6x + 4) - 6 12x + 24x + 18 = 36x + 24 - 6 when she got to the last line she stopped and said the equation is true for all values of x. How could Elena tell without finishing?
Elena could tell without finishing by simplifying both sides. The next step would have been 30x +24x = 30x+24. This would have been simplified down to x=1
