Question

How do you solve for `x` in `8x=16`?

Answer 1

`x=2`

Explanation:

Divide both sides of the equation by `8` to find:

`x = 16/8 = 2`

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Given any equation that is supposed to be true, if you perform the same operation on both sides then the resulting equation will also be true.

If the operation is reversible, then any solutions of the derived equation will be solutions of the original one.

In our example, our original equation was:

`8x=16`

We divided both sides by `8` to get the derived equation:

`x = 2`

The solution of the derived equation is immediate: `x` is equal to `2`.

The operation we performed is reversible - we could reverse it by multiplying both sides of the equation by `8`. So the solution of the derived equation is the solution of the original one.