Question #2e711

2 Answers
Feb 16, 2018

3x-20=2

3x=22

Thus, x=22/3

Feb 16, 2018

6

Explanation:

This can be written as
20-(3x)=2

To make it easier to work with, reorder it as
-3x+20=2

Now you can subtract 20 from both sides
(-3x+20)-20=(2)-20
-3x=-18

From here you can divide by -1 then 3, divide by 3 then -1, or divide by negative 3. No matter what you choose, you'll end up with the same answer. I'll show dividing by -3
-3x/-3=-18/-3
x=6

Therefore, the unknown number is -6. Plug this back into the first equation to check it
20-(3(6))=2
20-18=2
2=2