Question

If 2^3x-1 = 32 then x = (image included)
a. 5
b. -2
c. 2
d. 4/3
e. -4

Answer 1

x is equal to two.

Explanation:

We know that 32 is a power of 2. It is in fact two to the power of five. So we can re-express that as:

`2^(3x - 1) = 2^5`

Because they have the same constant as a base, we can toss the base altogether, and equate the exponents:

`3x - 1 = 5\\3x = 6\\x = 2`