Question

Solve the equation 3(x - 7) = 42

Answer 1

x=21.

Explanation:

First you distribute 3 to the parenthesis. You should get 3x-21=42 at this point. Then you add 21 to 42 to get 63. Here you should be at 3x=63. Divide 63 by 3 to get x=3

Answer 2

x = 21

To solve the equation, follow these steps.

3(x-7) = 42
Distribute the three into the parenthesis:

3x - 21 = 42
Isolate the variable, x, by first doing the inverse operation: add 21 to both sides to cancel it out

3x = 63
Now to isolate the variable entirely, divide both sides by 3 as divide is the inverse of multiply.

x = 21

To check this, input 21 as x in the equation:

3 (21-7) = 42
Subtract 21 and 7:

3 (14) = 42

42 = 42

Hope this helps!