Answer:
C. In step 2, Cindy should have multiplied both sides of the equation by 2.
Step-by-step explanation:
I'll go through the equation correctly, and then point out what would have happened.
3 = x/2 - 5
Add 5 to both sides. -5 and 5 cancel out.
8 = x/2
What Cindy should have done here is multiply by 2, not divide by 2. It is important to remember that you do the INVERSE operation to cancel out a number.
What would have happened here is that we have an extra step (though either way we still end up with x being 16.)
Correct Step 2:
Multiply both sides by 2. x/2 and 2x cancel out.
x = 16
Incorrect Step 2:
8/2 = (x/2)/2
4 = x/4
Multiply both sides by 4 (this would be the extra step!).
16 = x
