1. **State the problem:** Brent is $x$ years old. George is 8 years older than Brent, so George's age is $x + 8$. Joan is 4 times as old as George. We need to find an expression for Joan's age. 2. **Write the expression for George's age:** $$\text{George's age} = x + 8$$ 3. **Write the expression for Joan's age:** Since Joan is 4 times as old as George, multiply George's age by 4: $$\text{Joan's age} = 4 \times (x + 8)$$ 4. **Simplify the expression:** $$4 \times (x + 8) = 4x + 32$$ 5. **Conclusion:** The expression representing Joan's age is $4x + 32$. This matches the option $4x + 32$ in the multiple-choice answers.