The expression we have is:
[tex]18-7x=-20.5[/tex]To solve this equation for x, we need to leave the x alone on one side of the equation. The steps to solve are:
Step 1. To leave the term with the x alone on the left side, we need to subtract 18 to both sides of the equation:
[tex]18-18-7x=-20.5-18[/tex]As you can see 18-18 is equal to 0, so on the left side we will only have the term -7x:
[tex]-7x=-20.5-18[/tex]and on the right side -20.5-18 is equal to -38.5:
[tex]-7x=-38.5[/tex]Step 2. Divide both sides of the equation by -7 in order to only have "x" on the left side:
[tex]\frac{-7x}{-7}=\frac{-38.5}{-7}[/tex]On the left side, the -7 on the numerator and denominator cancel each other:
[tex]x=\frac{-38.5}{-7}[/tex]And on the right side, since we are dividing two negative numbers, the result will be a positive number. Also, the result of the division is 5.5, so:
[tex]x=5.5[/tex]Answer:
What is the value of x? 5.5
