How do you solve this problem 7x - 3 - 2x equals 17?

Answer 1

7x - 3 - 2x = 17

-2 -2

7x - 3 - x = 15

-7 -7

x - 3 - x = 8

+3 +3

x - x = 11

+x +x

x=11x

-x -x

(x=) 11

does that look familiar from class? You can do it different ways...

* * * * *

Yes, you can do it the correct way, instead!

7x - 3 - 2x = 17

Combine the like terms (7x and -2x) on the left side: 5x - 3 = 17

Add 3 to both sides: 5x = 20

Divide both sides by 5: x = 4

Check:

7*4 - 3 - 2*4 = 28 - 3 - 8 = 28 - 11 = 17

Does not work with x = 11!