-5x-16=9x+x-1 First, you want to combine like terms on each side. -5x-16=10x-1 Then, you want to cancel out alike terms. +5x +5x -16=15x-1 Continue... +1 +1 -15=15x Divide each side by the number in front of x to get x alone. ----- ----- 15 15
-5x-16=9x+x-1 Combine the like terms (terms with no or the same variable) -5x-16=10x-1 now you can group like terms so they're all on one side: -5x -16 = 10x -1 -10x +16 -10x +16 -15x = 15 Now divide both sides by 15 -x=1 x=-1