to each side. This will give you a new equation of
8
x
=
16
. The reason you add 5 is because you want to get rid of the -5x on the right. When you add 5 it changes to 0x. Anything times 0 equals 0. The next step is to divide both sides by 8. The reason you divide is to get x alone. When you divide 8x by 8, you get 1x. 1 times anything equals what the other thing is. For example, 1 times 4 is 4. This will give you your answer of
