1. **State the problem:** Simplify the expression $3(a - 2) - (2a + 4)$. 2. **Use the distributive property:** Multiply each term inside the parentheses by the factor outside. $$3(a - 2) - (2a + 4) = 3a - 6 - 2a - 4$$ 3. **Combine like terms:** Group the $a$ terms and the constants. $$3a - 2a - 6 - 4$$ 4. **Simplify:** $$\cancel{3a} - \cancel{2a} = a$$ $$-6 - 4 = -10$$ 5. **Final simplified expression:** $$a - 10$$ 6. **Answer:** Option c. $a - 10$ **Explanation:** We used the distributive property to remove parentheses and then combined like terms carefully to simplify the expression.