remember PEMDAS is the order of operations. parenthesis,exponents,multiply,divide,add,subtract. so -8x-4x is -12x. now simplified the problem is 3(9-12x) + 8(3x+4)=11 . now I would distribute the numbers before the parentheses and it becomes 27-36x + 24x+32 =11 . now combine like terms. 59-12x =11 . subtract 59 on both sides. -12x=-48. divide -12 on both sides. x=4. :-)