Let's first define our goal. Our goal here is to be able to isolate the variable, n, and solve for it by moving everything to the other side. We see that we have two sides of the equation, and by using the property of equality which states that whatever you do to one side you do to the other and the expression remains equal, we can solve this equation.
It looks like the only thing we have on the left side with n is that 6 1/2. In order to get rid of it, we must subtract it from both sides, because the property of equality states you must do the inverse operation.
Since the question only asks for bagels, put the cream-cheese idea aside. The total spent has to be less than $7 so an equation can be this: $0.75x<$7 where x is the number of bagels
