First subtract 5 from both sides
next subtract 1 - 5 so it can be -4
next divide both sides by -2
now we remove the negative signs since two negatives makes a positive
next simplify the fraction 4/2 to 2 since 4 divided by 2 is 2 since 2 times 2 = 4
then we break the equation down into these two equations: a = 2 and a = -2
and lastly we just gather both of those answers
Answer: a = ±2