The given problem is to solve the absolute value equation: \(|-3x - 6| = 15\).
Step 2: Explain Mistake Made
The student incorrectly simplified the absolute value expression. They treated \(|-3x - 6|\) as \(|-3x| + |-6|\), which is incorrect. Absolute value does not distribute over addition or subtraction.
Step 3: Correct Work and Solution
To solve \(|-3x - 6| = 15\), we need to consider the two cases for the absolute value expression: