How do you solve #7x + ( - 2x ) + 12= 2x + ( - 2x ) - 4#?

2 Answers
Jun 17, 2017

See a solution process below:

Explanation:

First, remove the terms from parenthesis being careful to manage the signs of individual terms correctly:

#7x - 2x + 12 = 2x - 2x - 4#

Next, combine like terms:

#(7 - 2)x + 12 = (2 - 2)x - 4#

#5x + 12 = 0x - 4#

#5x + 12 = -4#

Then, subtract #color(red)(12)# from each side of the equation to isolate the #x# term:

#5x + 12 - color(red)(12) = -4 - color(red)(12)#

#5x + 0 = -16#

#5x = -16#

Now, divide each side of the equation by #color(red)(5)# to solve for #x#:

#(5x)/color(red)(5) = -16/color(red)(5)#

#(color(red)(cancel(color(black)(5)))x)/cancel(color(red)(5)) = -16/5#

#x = -16/5#

Aug 6, 2018

#x=-16/5#

Explanation:

In this instance, the parenthesis are unnecessary, thus we have

#7x-2x+12=2x-2x-4#

We can combine the constants on the left and right, respectively to get

#5x+12=-4#

Next, we can subtract #12# from both sides to get

#5x=-16#

Lastly, we can divide both sides by #5# to get

#x=-16/5#

Hope this helps!