Question

Diego solved the following equation using the steps shown below.

Step 1: 3.5x + 6 = x + 18 1/4
Step 2: 2.5x + 6 = 18 1/4
Step 3: 2.5x + 6 = 18 1/4
Step 4: x = 6 1/8
What operation did he perform to get from Step 1 to Step 2?

Answer 1

Diego subtracted x from both sides of the equation to go from Step 1 to Step 2, changing the coefficient in front of x on the left side of the equation from 3.5 to 2.5.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the operation performed by Diego to get from Step 1 to Step 2 in the equation, let's examine the transition:

Step 1 to Step 2

Step 1: 3.5x + 6 = x + 18 1/4

Step 2: 2.5x + 6 = 18 1/4

From Step 1 to Step 2, the operation that Diego performed was subtracting x from both sides of the equation. This subtracted the coefficient of x on the right side from the coefficient of x on the left side, leading to a new coefficient of x on the left side, which is 2.5 (3.5 - 1).