The linear equation was solved using these steps. Linear equation: 1 3 (12x + 15) = 7 Step 1: 4x + 5 = 7 Step 2: 4x = 2 Step 3: x = 1 2 The property that was used in step 1 was the distributive property . The property that was used in step 2 was the distributive property . The property that was used in step 3 was the .