Answer:
- The equation is (x/2) - 2 = 10
- The equation solves to x = 24
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Explanation:
x = the number you think of
x/2 = the result after taking half of that number
(x/2) - 2 = subtract 2 from the previous result
(x/2) - 2 = 10 is the equation to solve
Solving said equation gets us...
(x/2) - 2 = 10
x/2 = 10+2 ... adding 2 to both sides
x/2 = 12
x = 12*2 ..... multiplying both sides by 2
x = 24
Notice how we basically undo everything applied to x. First we divided by 2, then we subtracted 2. So we follow that order in reverse to undo the "minus 2" (ie add 2 to both sides). Then we undo the division to multiply both sides by 2 to end up with the answer x = 24
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Let's check that answer:
x = 24
x/2 = 24/2 = 12 ... result after taking half of x
(x/2) - 2 = (12)-2 = 10 ... result after subtracting two
We end up with 10 as your teacher mentioned, so it confirms that x = 24 is the answer.
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Here's another way to check:
(x/2) - 2 = 10
(24/2) - 2 = 10
(12) - 2 = 10
10 = 10
We end up with the same thing on both sides, so x = 24 is confirmed.
