For his first step, he added \( 3+12 \) to get 15 . What was Jay's error? Find the correct answer.

Jay's error was in miscalculating the sum of \( 3 + 12 \). While he correctly added the two numbers to get 15, if this calculation was meant to be part of a larger problem, he might have overlooked additional operations or terms involved. For clarity, if the question were to find the total based on an equation like \( 3 + 12 + x = 30 \), then Jay would need to look for \( x \) which is \( 30 - 15 = 15\). To avoid such errors, it’s essential to double-check each step and ensure that all elements of the equation are considered before arriving at a final answer.