Since the "x"s cancel out in this problem, it wouldn't really matter if you got rid of the smaller variable first. But in other problems, agreed, it probably is a good idea!

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3(x - 2) + 4 = 2x + 6 + x I would remove the parentheses first by applying the distributive rule on the left side. 3x - 6 + 4 = 2x + 6 + x We now combine like terms 3x - 2 = 3x + 6 At this point, we see that this equation has no solution. It has no solution because 3x and -3x cancel each other out. Final Answer: no solution