Question

-4(3x - 5) = -16 - 12x

Answer 1

The question here is to solve for the value of x.

We will use the distributive property to make the left-hand side of the equation easier to work with.

Distributive Property:

$a(b\pm c)=ab\pm ac$

LHS becomes:

$-4\left(3x-5\right)=-4(3x)-4(-5)=-12x+20$

Now the equation becomes:

$-12x+20=-16-12x$

We put all the x's to one side and numbers to another (remember to change signs when changing sides):

$\begin{gathered} -12x+20=-16-12x \\ -12x+12x=-16-20 \\ 0x=-36 \\ 0=-36 \end{gathered}$

Now wait!

It doesn't make sense.

So, this equation is faulty. There is no solution.