No, they are not equivalent because if you distribute the -0.5 in the expression -0.5(3x+5) you will get -1.5x-2.5 which is not the same as -1.5+2.5
I think you have to divide
in rectangular form the equation is 
To convert a percent to a decimal, you move the the decimal left two places to convert the percent to a decimal. For example, if you were to convert 14% to a decimal, you move the decimal left two places so that 14% converted to a decimal would look something like this: 0.14
