Question

Construct a mathematical inequality or equation to express the following sentence:

“A number decreased by 2 is half the number increased by 6.” Show all of your work.

Answer 1

let the number be x.

x - 2 = (x/2) + 6

Let us go ahead and solve the equation.

x - x/2 = 6 + 2

x/2 = 8

x = 2*8

x = 16

So the number is 16.

Hope this explains it.

Answer 2

x - 2 = (1/2)x + 6
x = (1/2)x + 8
(1/2)x = 8
x = 16