Question

Ann has the 5 newest music CD's which is 3 less than twice the amount that Bob has.

Answer 1

We can write it down as:

5 = 2x - 3             / + 3 (both sides)
8 = 2x                  / : 2 (both sides)
x = 4

Bob has 4 CDs. Let's check it:

5 = 2 * 4 - 3
5 = 8 - 3
5 = 5

Correct.