-2(-x-3)-4x-1=13
Looking at this equation/expression, to solve the left portion of the equal sign, we must first go through PEMDAS.
P is for parentheses, e is for exponents, m is for multiplication, d is for division, a is for addition an s is for subtraction.
What can we do first?
Well, I see parentheses, but there’s a number in front of it, so that indicates that we need to distribute. And even if we try to simplify what’s in the parentheses, we can’t. Because there’s a variable and a number. Those two don’t match up.
So, to show the distribution of -2(-x-3) is as follow:
(-2*-x)-(-2*-3)
Both are being multiplied by negatives, so as we know, a negative times a negative equals a positive.
-2*-x= 2x and -2*-3= 6
Because they’re both positive, the subtraction sign that was there in the original expression can change to an addition sign.
2x+6 is how it should look.
Now insert that expression into the entirety of the expression/equation.
2x+6-4x-1=13
The next step is to combine like terms.
2x and -4x are like terms as well as +6 and -1.
2x-4x=-2x; Notice that the first term is smaller than the second term, so it’ll go into the negatives because of that.
6-1=5; easy and simple math.
Now, we can put the expression/equation back together in two ways.
One is: -2x+5=13
Another is: 5-2x=13
Essentially, they are the same.
We’ll use -2x+5=13 since it’ll be more convenient to display the oncoming steps.
Then, we’ll subtract the 5 on both sides as follows:
-2x+5=13
-5 -5
The -2x stays there on the side that it is on while the +5 is eliminated because subtraction is the reverse of addition.
13 minus 5 is 8.
The equation/expression should look like this:
-2x=8
Lastly, we divide by -2 on both sides resulting in -2x to become just x and 8 to become -4 since a negative times a negative equals a positive.
Thus, the final solution is x=-4.
To check if it’s correct, insert the term -4 for each x within the equation.
Hope this helps.