Question

what’s three times the difference of a number and four is -9

Answer 1

Greetings!

We can translate this into an equation:
$3(x-4)=-9$

Solve for x:
Distribute the Parenthesis.
$3x-12=-9$
Add 12 to both sides.
$(3x-12)+12=(-9)+12$
$3x=3$
Divide both sides by 3.
$(3x)/3=(3)/3$
The Answer Is:
$x=1$

Hope this helps.
-Benjamin