Question

Ciara solved the exponential equation 3x+1 = 15 and her work is shown below. What is the first step she did incorrectly?

Step 1: log 3x+1 = log15
Step 2: (x + 1)log 3 = log15
Step 3: log3 = log 15 over x plus 1
Step 4: 0.477121 = 1.176091 over x plus 1
Step 5: 0.477121(x + 1) = 1.176091
Step 6: x + 1 = 1.176091 over 0.477121
Step 7: x + 1 = 2.464975
Step 8: x = 1.464975

Answer 1

The step that she  did incorrectly would be step 3. For this we need to isolate the variable x. So, dividing x+1 should not be done because you are limiting the domain which is not main goal here. I hope this answers the question. Have a nice day.