Question

Which of the following statements correctly describes how to solve the given equation?

12-3.2=5
a. Add 3x to both sides, then divide both sides by 3.
b. Subtract |3x| from both sides, then multiply both sides by 3.
c. Add 12 to both sides, then multiply both sides by – 3.
d. Subtract 12 from both sides, then divide both sides by -3.

Answer 1

To solve the equation 12 - 3.2 = 5, algebraic manipulation would be required, adding 3.2 to both sides and then dividing both sides by 3.2. However, the correct steps depend on the actual presence of a variable such as 'x' and hence none of the given choices are correct.

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve the equation 12 - 3.2 = 5, we need to isolate the variable on one side. This requires algebraic manipulation. The equation provided in the student's question appears to have a potential typo, as there's no variable present. However, assuming the equation should contain a variable, such as x, let's consider 12 - 3.2x = 5. The correct steps to solve for x would be:

• Add 3.2x to both sides to get rid of the -3.2x on the left side, resulting in 12 = 5 + 3.2x.
• Next, subtract 5 from both sides to isolate the term containing x, yielding 7 = 3.2x.
• Finally, divide both sides by 3.2 to find x, which gives us x = 7 / 3.2.

Thus, none of the answer choices provided (a, b, c, d) correctly describe the steps required to solve this algebraic equation.