1. **State the problem:** Simplify the expression $(6a - 2b) - (5a + 3b)$. 2. **Apply the distributive property:** Remove the parentheses by distributing the minus sign to the second group: $$6a - 2b - 5a - 3b$$ 3. **Group like terms:** Combine the terms with $a$ and the terms with $b$: $$ (6a - 5a) + (-2b - 3b) $$ 4. **Simplify each group:** $$ 6a - 5a = 1a = a $$ $$ -2b - 3b = -5b $$ 5. **Write the final simplified expression:** $$ a - 5b $$