Negative 3 + 2 (2 x + x + 3) Step 1: Negative 3 + 2 (2 x + 2 + 3)
Step 2: Negative 3 + 2 (x + 5)
Step 3: Negative 3 + 2 x + 10
Step 4: 2 x + (negative 3) + 10
Step 5: 2 x + 7

What property of real numbers was used to transition from step 2 to step 3?
distributive property
associative property of addition
commutative property of addition
associative property of multiplication