Question

Solve the equation by performing two operations on both sides. State the operation in order of use

Answer 1

C. Multiply by 5, then subtract 7.

Explanation:

You want to know the two steps required to solve this 2-step linear equation.

Solution

The variable x has 7 added to it, and the sum is divided by 5. To find the value of x, we must undo these operations in reverse order.

To undo division by 5, we must multiply by 5.

Then, to undo the addition of 7, we must subtract 7.

Here is the "work":

`(x+7)/(5)=10\qquad\text{given}\\\\x+7 = 50\qquad\text{multiply both sides by 5}\\\\x=43\qquad\text{subtract 7 from both sides}`

The operations in order of use are ...

Multiply both sides by 5 first, then subtract 7 from both sides.

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Additional comment

The properties of equality tell you that you must do the same operation to both sides of the equation.