4(3x + 7) = 7

1) You can't do anything until you get rid of the parentheses. Use distributive property to get rid of those.

12x + 28 = 7

2) Now do the order of operations backwards. The first thing (going backwards) is addition/subtraction. What do you have in your problem? You have addition. The opposite of addition is subtraction.

12x + 28 = 7

-28      -28

12x          = -21

3. Now you have 12x = -21. What operation is being used in the equation? Multiplication is. The opposite of multiplication is division. Now divide both sides by 12.

12x = -21

x = -1.75

4(3x+7)=7

(3x+7)=7/4                    divide both sides by 4

3x = 7/4 - 7              subtract 7 from both sides

x = (7/4 - 7)/3         divide both sides by 3

x = 7/12 -7/3           expand the parenthesis

x = 7/12 - 28/12       find common denominator (* by 4/4)

x = -21/12               subtract

x = -7/4 simplify