Question

How do you solve x-(12-x)=38#?

Answer 1

`x=25`

Explanation:

`x-12+x=38`
`x+x=38+12`
`2x=50`
`x=25`

Answer 2

`x=25`

Explanation:

We start with `x-(12-x)=38`

Now, I like to begin by simplifying everything I can, and then combining like terms to reduce it down to its most concise form. In this case, I'm going to get rid of the parentheses.

So, we have `-(12-x)`. The `-` in front of the parentheses is actually a `-1`, and we will distribute the `-1` into `(12-x)`. It is now `((12*-1)-(x*-1))`, or `-12--x`, which is just `-12+x`.

The equation is now `x-12+x=38`. We can add `12` to both sides and combine the `x`s until we have `2x=50`.

Divide by `2` on both sides as we have `x=25`!