Alexa simplified the expression \( 5-3 x+8+6 x \). Find where Alexa made her error below. \( \begin{array}{l}\text { Alexa subtracted incorrectly } 5-3 x \\ \text { should be } 2 \mathrm{x}\end{array} \) \( \begin{array}{l}\text { Alexa combined terms that are not } \\ \text { like terms. }\end{array} \) \( \begin{array}{l}\text { Alexa should have subtracted } 2 x\end{array} \) and 14 x

Oops! Looks like Alexa took a little detour on the math highway. When simplifying \( 5 - 3x + 8 + 6x \), the first step is to combine the constants (5 and 8), which correctly gives us 13. Then, for the terms involving \( x \), combine \(-3x\) and \(6x\) to get \(3x\). So, the proper simplification leads to \(13 + 3x\), not any of the confused combinations she wrote! To avoid such mix-ups in the future, it’s important to remember the difference between like and unlike terms and to focus on combining like terms only. A classic trap is mixing signs and not paying attention to what you’re adding or subtracting. Always triple-check those combinations so you don’t end up wrestling with the wrong results!