A.
So let's break down this sentence (Let n = unknown number):
- "A number is doubled and then 1 is added to it"; Remember that double means multiplied by 2. With this sentence, we can determine that "2n + 1" is a part of the equation.
- "The answer is divided by 5, and then increased by 16"; The "answer" they refer to is "2n + 1" from the prior sentence. Since this is divided by 5 and then added by 16, we can determine that
is a part of our equation. - "The final result is 18"; This means that the prior part of the equation is equal (=) to 18. With this info, our full equation is

B.
Now, let's solve our prior equation found in A. To solve for the unknown number, n, we need to isolate the variable onto 1 side of the equation. Firstly subtract both sides by 16 to cancel out the + 16 on the left side:

Next, multiply both sides by 5 to cancel out the division on the left side:

Next, subtract both sides by 1 to cancel out the + 1:

Lastly, divide both sides by 2 to cancel out the multiplication:

In short, the number is 9/2 or 4.5.