Question

How do you solve `5(x-3)+2x=41`?

Answer 1

`x=8`

Explanation:

Given:`" "5(x-3)+2x=41`

Multiply out the brackets

`5x-15+2x=41`

Add all the `x's`

`color(green)(7x-15=41)`

Add `color(red)(15)` to both sides

`color(green)(7x-15color(red)(+15)" "=" "41color(red)(+15))`

`7x+0=56`

Divide both sides by 7

`7/7x=56/7`

But `7/7=1` giving

`color(blue)(x=56/7)`, or `x=8`.

Answer 2

`x=8`

Explanation:

We can distribute the `5` on the left side to get

`5x-15+2x=41`

We can combine our variables on the left to get

`7x-15=41`

To get our constants on one side, we can add `15` to both sides. We now have the equation

`7x=56`

Lastly, to completely isolate the variable, we can divide both sides by `7`. We get

`x=8`

Hope this helps!