Relax! This isn't so hard once you grasp it. In an equation like this, what's the first step? Distributive property, right? Multiply 1/3 by 12, then by -24 v, and apply the same process to the other side. This leaves you with 4-8v=-8v+4. Now you need to isolate that variable. You have the same variable on both sides, so you do inverse of subtraction on either one. I'm going to choose the one on the right. You add 8v to both sides, leaving you with 4-v=4. Subtract 4 from the first side, and get -v=4. You aren't solving for -v, so flip the sign, and your final answer is v=-4. Make sense? (Let me know if it doesn't--I'm always willing to walk you through it some other way. I plugged it back in, and I am 100% sure that this answer is correct.)