Question

In the solution of the equation 5 + 3x = -2x + 9, 2x is added to the equation first. Which of the following should be done next?

Answer 1

You should subtract 5 from both sides next.

Adding 2x to both side will give you the following.

5 + 5x = 9

And since you got all the variable terms to the left, you want all the constant terms to the right. You do that by subtracting 5 from both sides. This gives you the below statement.

5x = 4

You can then divide to solve.

x = 4/5 or .8