Distributive Property - Solving for a Variable - College

Solve for x : 5(x – 3) + 2 = 5(2x – 8) – 3

Answer : x = 6

Explanation:

The steps for solving this are as follows:

Apply the distributive property by multiplying the number outside of the parenthesis by each term inside the parenthesis to eliminate the parenthesis as follows:
5x – 15 + 2 = 10x – 40 – 3

Simplify both sides by adding or subtracting like terms as follows:
5x – 13 = 10x – 43

Eliminate 5x from the left side of the equation by adding a ( - 5x) to each side of the equation as follows:
5x + (-5x) – 13 = 10x + (-5x) – 43
-13 = 5x – 43

Add 43 to both sides as follows:
-13 + 43 = 5x – 43 + 43
30 = 5x

Multiply both sides by 1/5 as follows:
30 (1/5) = 5x (1/5)
6 = x

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