$$ \begin{aligned} 9x-(4x+2) &= 3x-40&& \text{simplify left side} \\[1 em]9x-4x-2 &= 3x-40&& \\[1 em]5x-2 &= 3x-40&& \text{move the $ \color{blue}{ 3x } $ to the left side and $ \color{blue}{ -2 }$ to the right} \\[1 em]5x-3x &= -40+2&& \text{simplify left and right hand side} \\[1 em]2x &= -38&& \text{ divide both sides by $ 2 $ } \\[1 em]x &= -\frac{38}{2}&& \\[1 em]x &= -19&& \\[1 em] \end{aligned} $$

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