How would you write twice x is 42 less than 5 times x?

Answer 1

We just need to look very closely at what we're given. So let's break it up:

Twice x -- this means 2x

When we hear "is" this means -- =

42 less than, means -- that we'll be subtracting

5 times x, which we write as -- 5x.

Now if we put all this together, we get the following: 2x=5x-42

If we were asked to solve for x, we'd just subtract 5x from both sides, get -3x=-42, divide both sides by -3, and get x=14.