Combining like terms whats your first step.

Here's an example 
simplify 3x - 1 + 5x + 6
there are 2 terms in x and 2 constants 
you could start by combining the 3x  and the + 5x

= 8x - 1 + 6

38+105= 143, 39+104=143, and you will find then adding the numbers on opposite sides, moving inwards yields the answer 138 every time. because of this, you’re going to multiply 138 times the number of pairs, which is 34. therefore, 34*138= 4692(i’m sorry if it’s the wrong numbers, but it’s the right concept)